Charm Your Nightmares
by Nooku
Summary: He was killed by his own brother, what else was left for him? His afterlife was literally a never ending nightmare; he was condemned to spend it fighting against blood-thirsty monsters. But when his curiosity takes over, the little boy realizes that his enemies aren't as bad as he thought they were. The problem was that he feared them, and thus refused to understand them.
1. Condemned

A light flickered on and off.

Hurried, nervous footsteps ran across the room.

Breaths came in gasps.

The little boy couldn't hold it much longer, every night was the same. Since that day, that horrid day in which he died at the hands of what he thought was his brother and his poor excuses for friends, he lived a terrifying nightmare from which he'd never escape unless he died there. The deceased kid was alive in his very own afterlife, it was as real as he used to be, but he had nowhere to go other than exploring what lied to be his house, which was only a mix between his bedroom and the hospital and nothing else. Monsters lurked the empty halls in vicious attempts to get him, creatures that lied to be those friendly animatronics that everyone loved.

Everyone but the little Ryan.

He truly preferred to live the rest of his life being constantly bullied by his brother rather than repeating a deadly routine every night. His nights never ended, it was dark after dark, it'd never cease. If the child died in his dream, he'd disappear out of existence. He'd never open his eyes again, he'd feel nothing. He'd vanish completely. And he was aware of it.

Ryan was panting as he reached for the right door's golden knob. He was sweating, his legs were hurt of running from left to right, back and forth, and he had been doing that for the past week. Ryan stared at the unnerving darkness that engulfed the corridors. A deep, warm huff of air waved his auburn hair, causing his reflexes to snap and close the door shut. Ryan closed his eyes as well, waiting for the monster outside to leave. It was probably the millionth time it happened. Low footsteps left the door, and Ryan just took a brief second to let go of the knob and flash the light at his bed, seeing how two Fredlets had already gotten up, twitching and calling for their complete version. The white light reflected on their glowing eyes, and they immediately vanished down the bed.

Quick running caught the kid's ears, making him gasp. His closet creaked, and for when he turned around, one of the doors moved. Almost tripping over for being so tired, to the point of barely being able to breathe, Ryan walked towards the closet and closed it right ahead; he didn't bother to flash the light yet, otherwise he would only catch glimpse of a monstrous fox snapping his gaping jaws at his face. He already knew how many time had he to wait until the beast became a simple, harmless plushie, and for when that time reached its end, the boy let go of the closet and moved to the left door. Much to his delight, nothing was there to greet him, leaving him the opportunity to shine the hall. Empty, what a relief. Ryan took a moment to sit in front of the bedroom, his hand clutching his grey shirt as he gasped to breathe. He knew he couldn't idle for longer though, the Nightmares were trying to tire him out to find the perfect moment to end what was left of his life.

His legs refused to respond, but Ryan did a great effort to get back on his feet and check the right door. Nothing in front of him, but the flashlight revealed the figure of Nightmare Chica staring at him with her only good eye, before trailing off around the corner, keeping her treacherous sight on the boy all the time. Ryan left the door as soon as possible and went to the closet. If he kept Nightmare Foxy unchecked for too long, his gleaming teeth would be the last things he'd ever see. He closed the door, waited impatiently, and realized it was about time to leave the fox and check on the Fredlets before their calls awakened the much larger Freddy. All three of them were up on the bed, but Ryan could tell the third and last one just jumped in as it left sooner than usual, the other two following.

The boy's legs weren't hurting, but _aching_. He felt like collapsing if he made another move. He knew what would happen if he gave up, and say that he was only frightened was an understatement. The Nightmares weren't precisely swift killers. It was in their nature to literally scare their victims to death as they mauled them with their pointed teeth and tore their flesh with their razor-sharp claws.

And then, his nightmare became a dreamland. The alarm clock screamed 6 AM, making Ryan limp down on the soft blue carpet with a long, pained sigh. He breathed heavily, staring at the flashlight on his slumbering hand. He had in mind how time would soon turn to 12 AM again, however, but he paid no attention. It was better to enjoy his moment of peace while it lasted.

Ryan started to realize how unfair everything was. How unfair his _life_ was. He was just a normal nine year old whose life was ruined by a bully brother. He hadn't done anything wrong, nor that he would ever want to, but his short life was lived like he was in Hell. He was constantly scared by his brother, laughed at by the older kids in the town, given mocking glares and comments by the children that lived around him, and finally, killed by his own blood during a 'harmless' prank. And to put the icing on the cake, he had to spend his afterlife being chased by monsters with death written all over them as if it was a punishment.

Thinking of all that caused tears to roll down Ryan's cheeks. He didn't deserve anything like that. He was a charm. He was a sweetheart. And everything… everything was because of his brother. I'm sorry. It was the last thing Ryan heard from him, but he didn't accept the useless apology. What was it going to fix anyways? Ryan's hand holding the flashlight curled into a fist as he reminded himself how miserable his life was.

He slowly got up to his feet. He had about the exact time to get out of the bedroom and reunite with Plushtrap before the Nightmares returned. He didn't turn on the flashlight, just in case, but he really didn't need to anyways; after so long, he knew the walk towards Plushtrap's corridor by memory. He lightly sat down, legs crossed. For a moment, Ryan became entranced with the sound of the wind outside. He watched the shadowy tree's leaves flow gently. By far, it was the most beautiful sight on his own little world.

He flashed the light at the cue of feet stepping on the floor. Plushtrap quickly sprang up on the chair, acting as if nothing happened, grinning widely and staring lifelessly at the boy, who turned off the flashlight and waited. He felt a whole lot more comfortable around Plushtrap than around the Nightmares. In fact, he would stay there forever if it wasn't for the fact that Plushtrap wanted time of its own. At least the plush wouldn't kill him, but then there was the downside – Plushtrap wanted its game to be played correctly, it _would_ hurt him if it didn't go the way it wanted to. Ryan had already gotten a few scars from Plushtrap's teeth connecting with his arms and legs. Thanks God they weren't as sharp and deadly as the Nightmares', otherwise Ryan would've been limbless by now.

The rattling of feet awakened the kid's attention. When the flashlight illuminated the hall, Plushtrap's mocking face vanished into the far right doorway. The game got serious. Ryan had to stop the living plushie on the X. It was that over losing his chance to pass time or getting angrily bitten by an annoyed Plushtrap. He waited for more noises. The golden stuffed toy was unpredictable. One night it could go fast as a blur, another night it could go as slow as a wandering snail. That thing sure was mischievous and tricky.

Ryan flashed the light. He caught Plushtrap in front of its chair, where it let its body limp down to a sitting position with a quiet thud, its mouth wide open. Ryan was getting nervous. It was a guessing game in which he'd have to ponder about if he would succeed, fail or get hurt. As silence took over the hallway, the boy closed his eyes, thinking about everything that had been going on during his life. He tended to do that a lot.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Plushtrap restarted his race, hiding within the left and closest doorway. Now it was the decisive moment. Ryan had to flash the light at the exact moment. He kept telling to himself that he'd win no matter what, or at least fail by that matter. He wasn't in the mood to get struck by something that equaled a rabid dog's attack. His muscles tensed, his ears waited for footsteps. His blue eyes narrowed with reliance, he knew he could do it.

And so it was.

His nervous finger clicked the flashlight's button, catching Plushtrap right on the X. Ryan restrained from giving a victorious jump and instead stood up with an attempt of a content smirk. "Better luck next time." he muttered to the lifeless plushie, walking back to his bedroom, letting a scared huff escape his gritted teeth. Each time he entered after having had fun with Plushtrap was like entering through a doorway to his fate, in which the lone options were live or die. And he wasn't the one choosing.


	2. Attacked

Ryan was way too nervous that night.

With his biggest effort, he had managed to go through two more nights. He still shivered at the thought that he almost died at the hands of Nightmare Freddy for not being cautious enough with the little demons he kept sending last night. He literally had one second to flash the light at the bed before the monstrous Freddy emerged, and to think that happened just a few hours ago was overwhelming.

But after everything he went through, he finally arrived at the fifth night, for the second time. He hated it. Hated it, and feared it more than any other. The fifth night had the poor kid confronted against his biggest torment, the one who took his destroyed life and caused him to be trapped in that hellhole. It was Nightmare Fredbear's turn to take things in hands. Ryan had already suffered an encounter with him the past fifth night, and he knew that things weren't going to be easy. Nightmare Fredbear seemed to be far more intelligent than the rest of Nightmares – that was, if they could actually think. Since the first time he locked eyes with them, Ryan knew that they were just robots mindlessly driven by their desire to kill. Nightmare Fredbear had something different though, he didn't repeat his same path over and over again. He had a strategy of his own, and it sure seemed to work against Ryan.

Just as the grandfather clock hidden by the darkness at the end of the hall started its haunting chime that echoed all through the lonely house, Nightmare Fredbear's deep steady footsteps went to the right. Ryan had in mind how he acted, and he didn't hesitate to go close the right door. With the Nightmares, a little mistake could be fine. But with that golden monster? There were no mistakes to be made. The littlest of errors could cost Ryan his life, and he did _not_ want to be killed by that thing twice.

Nightmare Fredbear's footsteps wandered to the other side, but just as the little kid was on his way to close the door, the murderous animatronic changed directions and went back to the right. Ryan hated when he did that. He was trying to both confuse him and tire him. But being tired down wasn't his biggest preoccupation; if he lost track of where Nightmare Fredbear was going, he'd be as good as dead.

Ryan didn't want to, but he couldn't stop thinking that he was going to be doing that for the next six hours. It was the cruel truth and it couldn't be changed.

Nightmare Fredbear roamed towards the left side, and as quick as a lightning bolt Ryan was already there to stop his maleficent tracks. He'd start to get dizzy from going one side to another all the time if Nightmare Fredbear didn't sneak into the room anytime soon. The animatronic seemed to be aware of that as well. He walked towards the right side, then towards the left, and finally stood at the right door which was soon closed. Ryan tried to fight against his fear and kept listening and preparing to run to the other side. Whenever footsteps stopped, the kid felt terribly nervous, thinking that the creature might be right behind him, waiting for him to turn around and give him a deathly surprise. Silence reigned, Ryan froze at the lack of sound as his frightened pupils became smaller.

A large relief ran through his body when Nightmare Fredbear's footsteps walked towards the other door, but it wasn't going to last for longer as a deep, mocking laughter rumbled across the bedroom. Ryan couldn't help but wonder how such a massive thing could sneak in like an agile little mouse. Nightmare Fredbear made no noise other than his laughter, it was stunning, especially considering that he was bulky and tall enough to almost reach the ceiling with his hat. But the young child had no time to ponder about it, and it wasn't like some kind of urge. After all, it was just a nightmare. One that felt as real as life, but still a nightmare. Nothing had to make sense.

He frantically turned around. The flashlight only revealed and empty bed in which the Freddy plushie sat innocently with its large blue eyes. Ryan dashed towards the closet and held the shuttered doors closed. He awaited Nightmare Fredbear's departure to again wander the obscure halls. Soon enough, his footsteps told Ryan he was headed for the left door, and so he got away from the closet and held the door shut. He took the opportunity to give the alarm clock a quick glance now that he was close to it, and his heart sank as he saw the red numbers paint 1 AM in the black screen. He expected it to be at least 3 or 4 AM. He thought time would run faster when the golden beast was attacking, but perhaps it went even slower due to the extreme fear Ryan was feeling. He let out a desperate sigh as he looked down, but his disappointment was trailed off as Nightmare Fredbear walked to the other door. Ryan closed it immediately.

The kid wanted him to give up, but that thing wasn't dumb enough to let the night pass without giving endless tries.

* * *

The decisive time had come. It was 5 AM already, and Ryan was never so tired and exhausted. He was at the right door, sitting in front of it and holding onto the knob as he panted, unable to stand upright anymore. In a matter of seconds, his suffering would be gone, but he couldn't let his guard down. Nightmare Fredbear knew he was running out of time and became more active as soon as the red digital 5 appeared on the clock. He panned from left to right, Ryan again felt like collapsing from his painful fatigue.

And finally, 6 AM greeted him. The kid stood on all fours, gasping for air as if he had been running up a mountain without stopping. He rolled over and sat down, a tear cascaded down his left eye. He didn't know whether he was happy everything was over, shaken about him having avoided death by something that had killed him before, or simply so tired he felt like passing out.

It came through his mind that he'd have to fight against the sixth night after giving Plushtrap some company. Nightmare Fredbear and the rest were far more active, and just visioning himself yet again fighting for his life caused him to want to stay in the room and never move until the Nightmares got to him. But no. He was strong, he wasn't a crybaby, he wasn't a weakling. His brother's words flashed in front of him when the crazy thought of staying there and waiting for death struck him,

 _You're useless._

 _You can't even take care of yourself._

 _So pathetic._

 _Do you want me to bring you back to the nursery? Hahaha._

 _Go play with your dolls._

Ryan shook his head and stood up firm and confident. His little Fredbear plush always told him to brush off the past. He missed it so much, it was always there to give him advice, to comfort him, to tell him what was right and what was wrong. He still remembered how he faded away, never to return, leaving him on his own, but only because it couldn't join him on his little adventure. That plushie was like the brother he never had.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and directed towards Plushtrap's hall. As he was about to make his way through the darkness, he could see, albeit barely, claw marks on the walls, made by the Nightmares as they sharpened their deadly claws. They probably did that while Ryan was distracted with the rabbit plushie.

He sat down in front of the X, as always. Plushtrap seemed to be on the mood to play some tricks that night, a few seconds scarcely passed by and the bickering demon was already on the move. Ryan took his small moment until getting to flash the light and see where it went, out of awe from it going so fast. The white glow of the light revealed its glaring, toothy face disappearing behind the far right doorway, and no long after darkness took over, the plushie started moving again. Ryan expected it to be in front of the chair, but instead it vanished towards the close left door.

It sure was on a rush, Ryan didn't remember Plushtrap being so fast the past fifth night. In literally no time, the golden plushie's rattling feet warned Ryan, who quickly turned on the flashlight, once again succeeding at stopping Plushtrap at the X. Something seemed off, it looked like Plushtrap let itself be caught so early on purpose, as if something was about to happen and it wanted to contribute on it.

Ryan didn't even rejoice at the sight of the plushie slumped, unmoving, knowing it had been defeated. Plushtrap literally took ten seconds to get to the X, and Ryan was completely sure it was purposely. Either it didn't want to play, or it made the thing shorter only for the hell of it. The young child kept thinking it was the second option, Plushtrap never grows tired of playing.

There was remorse on each of his steps as Ryan went back to what lied to be his bedroom. He just wanted his eternal nightmare to stick with real life, then he could close the door and keep it like that forever. Then again, if that was ever to happen, the Nightmares would grow tired and bring the door down. Ryan brushed the thought off at the imaginary sight.

He stood in the middle of the room, holding the flashlight with both hands, waiting for sound cues to get him moving. The first thing he heard was Nightmare Foxy's rapid footsteps, soon followed by the deep walking of the Nightmares. Ryan ran towards the left door, nothing. The right door was completely empty as well. The boy returned to the middle of the room as Nightmare Foxy kept on running from one side to another. He turned to his bed, seeing one of the Fredlets swoop down as soon as the light met its pinprick sized eyes. Everything was going fast that night, Ryan was fully prepared to take on it. He just hoped he wouldn't get killed, but it would happen sooner or later. It was a fact that he wouldn't survive there forever.

The boy went to check the right door. He opened it with the usual creak, and a huff of air told him it was about time to close the door on that thing's face. Ryan had his eyes planted on the room as he held the door closed so he knew what his next move would be. Nightmare Chica eventually left, and Ryan ran towards the parallel door, knowing that Nightmare Bonnie might be about to pay him a visit. He wasn't at the door, but the light caught him moving out of sight at the end of the corridor.

Nightmare Foxy was still running, which was a relief for Ryan. The less animatronics he had to worry about, the better. Footsteps sounding dangerously close caught the kid's ears. They came from the door he had just checked. He slowly opened it, waiting for the usual breathing noise to be heard.

From that point, he made one of his worst mistakes ever.

The screeches of the Fredlets caused him to look over his shoulder, he could see their glowing eyes twitching. The three of them were up, and it was a matter of seconds until Nightmare Freddy came up. The distraction caused Ryan to accidentally press the flashlight's button, turning on the light in the worst possible moment. The kid jumped backwards without even noticing he had done so as a gaping jaw snapped mere inches away from his face. Ryan even felt a whoosh of air as the blood-thirsty teeth snapped together.

The now terrified boy let out a piercing scream as he backed away from Nightmare Bonnie. His heart pounded never so fast, his blood ran cold, his breathing came in massive gasps of horror. Nightmare Bonnie shook his head and took a step in, growling loudly. His glowing purple irises bore into his soul. Past those eyes Ryan could see the fury of a killing machine, his twisted desire to kill.

The only other thing that frightened Ryan was the screams of the Fredlets growing louder, Nightmare Freddy was going to come out and there was nothing he could do about it. Just as he had guessed, the demonic Freddy Fazbear rose from underneath the large bed and stood in front of Ryan as Nightmare Bonnie stared at him from the door. The poor boy was too scared to even move, he felt his legs freezing on the spot as if they had been transformed into solid rock. The Fredlets jumped on Nightmare Freddy's body as he kept his glaring yellow eyes on his victim.

A deep howl bubbled on Nightmare Bonnie's throat as he slowly approached, Nightmare Freddy doing the same as his tiny counterparts hissed menacingly. Ryan couldn't get his legs to move. He was sweating, soft tears fell down his cheeks as he watched the vicious Nightmares circle him.

And then his mind snapped. With no time to think twice, Ryan ran out of the bedroom. He didn't care about anything anymore, he didn't care if he bumped into Nightmare Chica or ran into Nightmare Foxy when he got out, he only wanted to get as far away from death as possible. Ryan dashed out of the left door, running as if the carpet had suddenly turned into burning lava.

He arrived at the far end of the corridor, and immediately hid underneath a small table that was placed against the wall. It was all lightless, and his shirt was dark, so he prayed he could blend in with the darkness and prevent the Nightmares from spotting him. He held his legs close together, his head crouched, trying to be as small as possible to increase his chances of hiding perfectly. His fearful blue eyes looked around him. He could barely see something, but he could hear the Nightmares' frustrated snarls as they searched for their prey. Ryan knew that if the clock didn't reach 6 AM soon, his time would be over. Four deadly animatronics were looking for him, five when Nightmare Fredbear appeared (if by luck Ryan managed to survive until 4 AM), and maybe even six if Plushtrap decided to make an appearance and blew the whistle on the kid's hiding spot.

A short warble made Ryan look at the middle of the room. Nightmare Chica walked slowly towards the hall. She didn't seem to have noticed the boy, who at this point had his eyes closed and didn't even breathe, trying his best to not give away his position. Much to his dismay, the broken-down chicken stopped right in front of the table. Ryan froze like a lifeless statue, keeping his eyes on her. He heard her trill lowly among her deep breaths.

Finally, she kept walking towards the hall with a hiss, probably curious as to why the light didn't appear. Ryan sighed in relief, but he couldn't abandon his spot. The Nightmares wouldn't give up their search for him until he was found. And killed.

Nightmare Freddy and Nightmare Bonnie reunited at the room, growling somberly at each other. They were searching for the little boy, there was no denying it. Nightmare Foxy, accompanied by Nightmare Chica who realized Ryan had escaped after giving the bedroom a short look, soon joined the search party. The fox gave a loud growl, which the two other Nightmares gave back. Ryan noticed they were facing the opposite direction of where he was. He could try to sneak back into the bedroom, he wasn't safe there. He actually didn't know of any actual safe place by that matter, but his bedroom sure was more protected than a simple table. He moved just a slight bit, but with the darkness he couldn't see what surrounded him and he accidentally pushed the table's arm with his hand, making it lightly hit the wall with a low thud.

Ryan gasped internally, all the Nightmares were facing his direction. He didn't know how good of sight they were, but he hoped they couldn't see much. The boy closed his eyes tightly, hoping to hear the alarm clock blaring 6 AM, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Silence took over the place.

No footsteps, no breathing, no growling whatsoever. It was like everything vanished. Had the Nightmares gave up? Ryan doubted so, he didn't hear them leave. He opened one of his eyes sheepishly, he didn't see the Nightmares anywhere near him. His other eye opened in surprise, but before he could even try to get out, four claws went through the table, making Ryan reflexively crouch with a scream and get out of there. Nightmare Bonnie took his mortal claws out of the table as he glared at the boy, Nightmare Freddy by his side. Ryan was backing away towards the hall, but when he turned around to run to his bedroom, he was met with Nightmare Chica blocking his way, giving him a threatening squawk. Nightmare Foxy was also blocking the way towards the other hall, Ryan was surrounded by teeth and claws that wouldn't take long to end his life.

Angry bellows and hisses filled his ears as he backed away towards the wall and slid down, his whole body trembling. He was panicking, uncontrollable tears flooded his face. He covered his eyes with his hands, unable to look at the scene that was about to take place. He could hear the Nightmares getting closer, but the attack wasn't carried out yet. He knew he was going to die anyways, looking or not, so he brought one of his shaking hands down slowly. Nightmare Foxy was closer to him than the rest. All the Nightmares were going to kill together him as a pack of vicious wolves, but Nightmare Foxy seemed to be the one taking the first strike. Oh the irony, Foxy was always his brother's favorite. It was like being savagely attacked by him. The large fox leaned back slightly, and lunged at the boy with a roar as he covered his eyes again and flinched.

But everything he heard was a loud crash and a yelp instead of blood pouring everywhere.


	3. Saved

The curiosity of what that sound was overtook the fear for a moment.

In a span full of wonder, yet accompanied by self-distrust, Ryan did an effort to fight against the last remaining bits of terror that clouded around him to look up, and was completely aghast at what he saw. Nightmare Fredbear stood in front of him, facing the Nightmares, breathing heavily. Where he came from, Ryan had no idea.

The second thing he noticed was Nightmare Foxy lying on the floor, and it was safe to assume that Nightmare Fredbear pushed him away. The large fox stood up, shaking his head with a quiet grunt before lumbering back with his partners. Ryan could notice that his hooked arm seemed to be a little limp, he probably got hurt when Nightmare Fredbear shoved him out of the way. The golden bear's angered crimson gaze stared at the Nightmares fiercely. They had stopped growling, and even looked somewhat startled. Why wouldn't them, Nightmare Fredbear, aside from being larger and deadlier than them, was also their rightful leader. And an angered leader is not to be growled at.

Nightmare Fredbear gave the Nightmares a deep, menacing trill, his long blood-tinted teeth gleaming, which made them slowly back away. He was telling them to leave. The terrifying creatures only took a short moment to trail off into the darkness, all of them but Nightmare Foxy. The fox fixed his golden eyes on Ryan before following the others, snorting in frustration as he turned to leave. Nightmare Fredbear seemed way more relaxed after the rest were gone, his breathing wasn't so audible and his gaze softened slightly. Ryan couldn't understand what happened, it was like a jigsaw whose pieces had been scattered all over the place. Had Nightmare Fredbear just…

…saved his life?

No, it couldn't be. He probably wanted the Nightmares gone to kill Ryan himself. The large bear gave him a sideways glance before fully turning to look at him. Bright red eyes locked with a frightened blue gaze. Nightmare Fredbear was looking at Ryan more curiously than threateningly, but at the border of absolute panic, the boy didn't notice that. "No! Get away from me you _monster_!" he cried out, his voice cracking. The golden head tilted very lightly to the right. Nightmare Fredbear gave a soft croon. It sounded sad, as if he had been hurt by Ryan's words. And moving his sight down, the withered animatronic took a step back before slowly returning to the shadows.

Ryan couldn't be more confused. He started to think that the possibility of the one who had killed him just helped him, but why would he? All the Nightmares were monsters anyways, in all senses. Nightmare Fredbear had no reasons to just leave Ryan unharmed, so no matter how much he wanted to, he was completely unable to understand anything. Perplexed, he slowly stood up with shaky feet. It was all silent, he felt like he was alone, and he honestly wished he was.

He plodded towards his bedroom, stopping to look behind him as he was already at the middle of the hallway as a measure of protection; there was no way to tell if the Nightmares would return or not, but it didn't seem like the they were going to make an appearance anytime soon. Ryan slowly opened the door ajar and carefully picked up the flashlight that had been left forgotten on the carpet after the terrible scare. He, tired and still puzzled, scuffed towards the drawer. He took a glance at the clock, it was 4 AM as he had guessed by Nightmare Fredbear's presence. The kid sighed and sat down against the drawer. He found himself staring at the popcorn white ceiling, thinking about his past. He knew it was better to forget it, to let it go away, but it was hard for him. Ryan still missed his parents, but only they and the Fredbear plushie were worth remembering. He didn't miss his brother or any of his friends on the slightest, and probably never would. After all, he was trapped in that nightmare because of his hell of a brother and his antics.

Even if the Nightmares came back, Ryan wouldn't move from his spot. He was still scared, and confused. He wanted to know why Nightmare Fredbear saved him from getting killed. Was he just trying to keep him there for longer? That must've been the reason. Fighting for his life endless times sure was worse than dying right away, and something like that murderous bear was cruel enough to let it be that way.

* * *

A silent while passed and there was still no sign of the Nightmares. Ryan didn't see the Fredlets hopping onto the bed, nor did he hear Nightmare Foxy's frantic running or Nightmare Fredbear's laughter. He could only hear the noises outside and no more; the engine of a car, the barks of a dog, the wind in the tree's leaves. He sighed quietly, knowing there were outside noises yet there was no outside. Out of that house there only was darkness, there was no life, absolutely nothing. That dream was just tricking him.

Out of boredom, Ryan flicked the light, pointed at the ceiling, on and off wearily as his eyes fell closed and opened constantly. In that world, tiredness was something Ryan couldn't get to understand. He felt tired, but he _wasn't_ tired, and that was one of the two reasons he never fell asleep, the other obviously being the beasts waiting impatiently to get to his room.

The boy was suddenly startled by the alarm as it announced 6 AM. Ryan didn't even feel like going with Plushtrap. He didn't feel like doing anything at all. It was as if he had woken up early in the morning and had to go to school, his status was a mix of languor and a lack of strength, and it was hard to win a battle against that feeling.

Then, his eyes widened as he fell into realization. There were only two things worse than the fifth and sixth nights and the Nightmares.

It was the hateful seventh night, and the dreadful, terrifying abomination that lurked the halls when its time came upon, it was the direct personification of fear and Death itself, rightly known by the name of Nightmare. Ryan may have thought Nightmare Fredbear was unnerving and made fear take over him whenever he made contact with those blood-red eyes, but Nightmare was a whole different story. That monster was relentless and ruthless, he wasn't going to stop at anything or anyone. Fending him off was almost impossible, and Ryan still had no idea how he managed to during their first encounter.

The boy still wondered if Nightmare was real or not. He didn't even have an actual suit like the rest, it was merely a shadow cloaked around him. Ryan could see through that thing, from the endoskeleton to whatever he had behind. Nightmare was a great threat, and Ryan certainly did _not_ want to figure out if he was real or not by himself. He had to go through that night again and he didn't even want to focus on what could happen. Fortunately, the other Nightmares didn't really seem to be coming back, and that was a strike of luck and peace. But only for a short period of time before Nightmare began his approach.

Nothing else left to do, Ryan stood up and walked towards Plushtrap's hall. Just as he exited the bedroom, quick footsteps awakened his attention, making him sharply turn around and look at his sides. Everything was just darkness, there was nothing. He frowned thoughtfully and kept walking, already starting to get nervous because of the trouble he would get in after the little game.

The little game that never took place.

Ryan illuminated the hallway, and found the white chair empty, making him stop short on his tracks. Plushtrap couldn't have left that early, he always waited for his favorite companion. Maybe, and just maybe, the footsteps he heard just seconds ago were Plushtrap's as he delved into the obscure halls. Ryan flashed the light on and off a few times, waiting to get any response from the plushie in case it was hiding in one of the four doorways, but it was gone as well as the Nightmares. Weird things were starting to happen.

Ryan heard more frantic running. It came from behind him, but he couldn't tell exactly where. The child could've sworn he heard a little giggle, similar to that of a mischievous clown with a very high-pitched voice. It was likely that Plushtrap was the source of the noise, even though Ryan never heard him laugh, or even emit any kind of sound. He didn't want but at the same time wanted to investigate. In some seconds he made his decision. Maybe he was fearful, but his curiosity could grow upon unsuspected limits and scare the fear away.

The white glimmer of his flashlight illuminated the dark end of the halls. With stealthy steps, Ryan walked slowly, without making any kind of noise as he looked around him to make sure nothing was watching him. He stopped at the end of the corridor, at the place where he almost died at the hands of the Nightmares. The light wandered across the whole room but there was nothing to be seen. Plushtrap and his fellow monsters were completely gone, but something had to be roaming about. A laugh doesn't just let itself be heard for no reason, even less in a dream filled with death.

The next thing, Ryan's flashlight flickered rapidly for a moment before turning off. He gasped, "No, no, no, come on, work!" he whispered nervously, trying to turn on the flashlight in vain. He held it with both hands as his sight looked up fearfully. Why did it have to happen that night, was all the kid wanted to know. Without a flashlight, he couldn't survive there, without the flashlight, he was an easy target for anything that could be lurking, and a delightful target with the son of the darkness about to start his hunt.

Ryan drifted in the lightless halls. He still wanted to know where the laughter came from, but he had inspected every place that existed there except for his bedroom. He peeked his head in just in case, but without a single light to help him he wasn't going to see much unless he took a closer look. He felt a shiver run down his whole body as he entered. He had no idea what could be skulking there, maybe any of the Nightmares had already snuck in while he wasn't present and were there with him, waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike. The faint, sneering laughter was heard again. Ryan glanced at the closet. That was where it seemed to be coming from.


	4. Troubled

His oddly inquisitive fear astounded him.

Ryan stared at the half-open doors of the closet. He knew that if something truly was there, he'd have to go inside if the mischievous creature that had wandered in didn't come out for when the shuttered doors opened. Without a single light, Ryan wasn't able to see anything further than a couple of feet away, and checking the closet in search for a new threat wasn't precisely something he was willing to do.

He left the dead flashlight atop of the bed, and with a nervous gait, the boy decided to look what was there with him. He couldn't just let that thing inside, with him, in the darkness. He extended his arm to reach for the left door of the closet; he noticed how much his limb was trembling due to fear. He felt like blanching when his fingertips made contact with the door and slowly started to push it open with a low and steady creak. Ryan noticed he had to almost enter the closet if he wanted to actually see something, it was so gloomy inside that his sight couldn't even reach to see the silhouettes of the clothes.

He took a small step forth, the door opening until it hit the wall. The kid didn't expect it to stop so suddenly that he slightly winced with the thud it made. The closet seemed to be empty. There wasn't any kind of breathing, nor were there glowing eyes or gleaming teeth and claws, which fortunately meant that there wasn't any Nightmare animatronic awaiting Ryan's arrival. It did calm him down enough to gain a slim confidence to take another step further, but he pretty much wasn't going to move on from there.

His blue eyes checked every spot visible, no silhouettes or shadows were hiding in there. Ryan started to question if the giggle he heard was just a figment of his imagination, something the dream was doing to scare him since the Nightmares weren't roaming around and the horror had to always be present. His expression softened, he was about to turn around and stay in the bedroom waiting for Nightmare's appearance until a soft thump caught his attention, causing him to sharply look over his shoulder

He was sure about having caught a puny glimpse of something shiny disappearing just the moment he turned around to meet the darkness accumulated behind the doors. Ryan stood in place for some seconds. There _was_ someone with him. Who? He'd love to know, without having to risk his pendant life that is. He finally took the courage to whirl around. No matter what, he'd have to find out who was watching him to then choose if to run or stay there. The likely choice was to run though, because whatever was right in front of him was presumably dangerous. The only not-so-deadly thing Ryan had seen was Plushtrap.

Talking about Plushtrap…

Ryan narrowed his eyes, searching for something undesirable through the shadows. The giggle was heard again, and right after it two glowing white eyes with black pupils opened in the middle of the closet. The scare was so fast, Ryan's eyes widened for a second and the next he found himself having jumped back away from the closet as a golden blur lunged at him with a high-pitched scream he recognized pretty well.

The now startled child shook his head to recover from the sudden affright and looked in front of him. He hadn't expected to see Plushtrap laughing sneeringly at him on the slightest. The puckish plush toy was guffawing at Ryan just the way his brother did, and it actually hurt him deeply when the memories surrounded him. It hurt him even more how it had scared him the exact same way his brother did as well.

Ryan could hear malice between those piping, squeaky chuckles. He just stared at it, he didn't even know what he was more confused and shocked at – Plushtrap laughing, or it having apparently changed the game into hide-and-seek. Plushtrap slumped as its giggles began to slowly cease. Its black pupils looked straightly at Ryan after it fully stopped laughing. It seemed to be looking for a sign of happiness on the boy's face since it was smiling more widely than usual and had expectant eyes planted on the kid in front of him. Ryan was everything but happy, and the plushie noticed when its usual grin seemed to disappear and fade to a frown as much as it could. It tilted its large head to the side, making a brief purr-like noise. Plushtrap thought Ryan would find the new game entertaining, but he surely did not.

The stuffed rabbit stood up limply as it kept its unnerving stare. Ryan could only find that thing creepier and creepier as their exchanged puzzled looks. The kid stood up as well, giving a step back to keep balance. "Y-yeah, that's not funny at all…" he said lowly, guessing that Plushtrap only wanted to take a smile out of his face and failed wildly at it. The toy made up a sad face as Ryan turned around and sat up on the edge of the bed, his head looking down at the blue carpet thoughtfully. Plushtrap tilted its head to the other side, it didn't fully understand what had it done so wrong. "I hate to be jumped at like that." Ryan clarified, getting the toy to look at him curiously. "Brings back bad memories…" He gave the flashlight a small glance. It was his one and only weapon and it was gone for who knows how long. "Why am I even telling you this… you probably don't understand."

What Ryan wasn't aware of was that Plushtrap _did_ understand. It did understand that being scared like that wasn't his favorite thing. It didn't know why though, but Plushtrap wasn't a questioner and simply dealt with the clear facts. No more hide-and-seek, that was for sure. And while it found it disappointing since it was tired of playing the same game over and over again and wanted to find other ways of having fun, it didn't really want to harm Ryan's feelings anymore. Plushtrap crooned as it lumbered towards him, standing next to him. He didn't move his sight off the floor, even if he knew the plushie was to his side. The memories that little scare gave him weighed more than the responsibility of keeping the Nightmares away. Something so small was something so big for him. "Don't you come saying sorry now," Ryan told Plushtrap as he guessed the thing was apologizing as it could for having awakened his past. He knew it wasn't right at all to blame it on Plushtrap, what did it know? It wasn't like it knew everything.

Suddenly, its ears perked up as its eyes widened, round as plates. It looked around the bedroom alarmingly, and that was when it got Ryan to actually look at him. Something was wrong. _Really_ wrong. The boy took a gander at the alarm clock. He felt like everything around him froze and he and the clock were the only things left. It was 4 AM. In other words, Nightmare's probably successful turn to kill Ryan.

Without the flashlight, there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop that monster of the shadows. When Ryan looked back at Plushtrap it had already dashed away, it was as afraid of Nightmare as the boy was, and it wasn't going to spend a second more in that bedroom that would soon became hell if Ryan didn't think of something soon. The dark animatronic's footsteps frantically panning from left to right indicated that he was already on the move. Ryan still had a chance - if by gigantic luck Nightmare didn't sneak in he had an opportunity to make it through the night, but if that thing got in… there'd be nothing left for the kid to do.

The heavy footsteps stopped at the right side, but unsurprisingly Nightmare changed route to the other side as Ryan was just about to close the door. He felt his heartbeat accelerate. The Nightmare animatronics were just puppies compared to the shadow-cloaked monster, and Nightmare Fredbear? Compared to Nightmare he was slow and easy to get rid of when it was clear he wasn't. Nightmare turned Ryan's world upside-down. What he thought was scary turned into something harmless. What he thought was exhausting transformed into a kid's play. It was just way too much for him to handle.

Ryan just left the door as Nightmare returned to his halt-and-stop race through the obscure halls. The kid was already dizzy of moving so fast, so many times, in so many directions repeatedly.

And then, there it was. The laughter. The laughter that screamed 'death'.


	5. Bewildered

Ryan didn't know if he had the enough courage to turn around.

If Nightmare had gone into the closet things wouldn't have run to the dark side, but Ryan heard that thing right behind him, waiting for him to face his death. Ever so slowly, Ryan turned his head to look at him. He was startled when he realized he was unable to see Nightmare on his entirety, aside from his blazing red eyes staring _into_ him and the bright endoskeleton that highlighted among the darkness. Nightmare's garbled growl turned into a snarl accompanied by a deep bubbly howl, Ryan knew he wasn't going to get out of there alive. There was no hiding, no running away. There was nothing left to do, he didn't even see the point of moving anymore. His fear attached him to the floor, he was motionless and the only movement he could make was the terrified shivers of his arms and legs as Nightmare took a step closer.

He was eager to have his teeth and claws stained with blood and stare at a lifeless body laying limp on a puddle of red. Sadistic as that he was. Nightmare took another step closer. Ryan's heart pounded so fast, so heavily, he feared it was going to burst out of his chest. Another step. The boy didn't know if he was breathing or not, he certainly forgot if he could. Nightmare was just inches away from him, towering above him. Ryan was unable to move his sight off of those teeth, off of those darting eyes that looked down at him. The snarl was louder, it was the pure sound of an impending kill, and it was fully directed at Ryan. He was completely still, he felt as if his body was made out of stone and his skin color drained away. Nightmare's gaze sharpened, there was a savage grin on his face. Unadulterated malice shined through those scarlet orbs.

But before anything could happen, a shrill growl put Nightmare into silence. He sharply looked behind, searching for whoever had the courage to stop him. Ryan was still too shocked to move, but he risked a glance at what he could oversee through the darkness. A brown figure stood there, golden eyes challenged Nightmare to get away. There was no doubt, it was Nightmare Freddy. Ryan couldn't understand. What was going on? Why was Nightmare Freddy helping him when he had tried to murder him twice already? It was amazing how such a small mistake with the flashlight unleashed such a large chain of events that changed the monsters bound to end his life completely.

Nightmare Freddy's jaw shivered as he gave a menacing growl which Nightmare took as defiance. His anger burned like blazing fire for the heinous crime of a lesser animatronic daring to challenge him. Nightmare Freddy seemed quite unsecure, and he had reasons to be. No one could be calm when staring face to face at a better-armored and larger opponent, and even more if he was hell angry. The Fredlets congregated behind their superior. They certainly weren't about to take part on the fight, and Nightmare Freddy didn't want them involved anyways. They were ants compared to Nightmare and couldn't do much against such beast. The animatronics glowered at each other's eyes, waiting for one to take the first move, but as for the moment it seemed to be more of an observation instead of a serious fight.

Ryan didn't exist anymore for Nightmare, his focus was fully planted on his rival, and the kid took it as an opportunity to back away. Even thought none of the present animatronics were going to attack, he still remained wary. He had a perfect chance to leave, but he didn't take it. Knowing what was happening, why the Nightmares were suddenly helping him, was a must-do thing. A loud snap echoed through the bedroom when Nightmare Freddy clamped his jaws shut threateningly, letting Nightmare know he was going to take the risk of fighting him if that was the only way to save Ryan, making the shadow-cloaked animatronic whisper a bellow.

The amazed boy was sure of having heard several caw-like noises outside, in the dreadful halls, but it was hard to hear anything else than the growls and snarls that filled the room. The loud yet sinking caws kept barking outside the bedroom, but Ryan was so entranced with the brawl that he didn't pay them the slightest attention even if he was fully aware of them. The caws seemed to get closer, but the Nightmares paid them no heed whatsoever, they were far more focused on intimidate each other. Ryan did grow curious, however, and he glanced at the door. Quick small footsteps were making their way towards the bedroom, the kid could've sworn he heard them before.

And as he had guessed, Plushtrap entered the room almost panicked. Ryan was happy it didn't abandon him after all. Plushtrap looked at him, then at the door where its gaze became chained at. It seemed to be waiting for someone, or something. It made a silent croon as it looked at the bed, and its beady eyes widened in realization. Keeping a safe distance between it and the noisy, angered animatronics, Plushtrap made its way towards the bed and picked up the flashlight hurriedly to return with Ryan and hand him his only weapon, that had failed him.

Confused, Ryan didn't take it and eerily whispered, "Why are you giving me this? It doesn't work!" Plushtrap pulled the flashlight closer to him, almost begging him to take it. He was left no choice other than picking it up, and he inquisitively pressed the button.

Surprisingly it worked.

The light embraced the ceiling and illuminated part of the room, but the bickering Nightmares didn't even seem to notice. It was the purest of lucks that the batteries could come back to life eventually. A smirk with bursting confidence claimed Ryan's face. Light was the only thing that worked against Nightmare. He finally had a way to get rid of him, and in an artless moment Ryan had already made his decision. Plushtrap seemed prideful at the brave action, after all if it wasn't for him the flashlight would've been left forgotten. It soon turned its attention back to the door. Whatever was coming was about to arrive.

"Hey fatso!" Ryan sassily yelled at Nightmare. He had no idea where all that brand new confidence came from, but he seemed to get a kick out of it. Nightmare sharply turned to look at him with a really annoyed snarl that made him flinch back, but he wasn't about to let fear take over him again. Nightmare Freddy was almost astonished at the sudden burst of bravery. Ryan pointed the flashlight at Nightmare, whose eyes glanced at it in wonder of what it was going to do. "Hope you like lights." With that, he turned on the flashlight. A shooting beam of white blinded Nightmare's eyes, forcing him to back away with a pained bellow. Nightmare Freddy took the chance to attack, but Nightmare had either the acutest hearing in the world or recovered in a split second as it cunningly dodged the gaping jaws snapping at him that missed by an inch. The blood-red eyes panned between Ryan and the bear as Nightmare blinked from time to time, clearly dazed with the gleaming of the flashlight.

An attack was about to be carried out by a furious Nightmare, but an angered roar freed silence that surrounded every part of the house. There was no sound left other than heavy footsteps stepping on the ocean carpet. A recognizable kind of footsteps. Only two animatronics made them.

Plushtrap's attention on the door was greater, Ryan stared at it as well. He knew what the stuffed toy had been waiting for, and he was mixed as to whether like it or not. A golden shape could be seen at the door, red eyes inspected inside. Ryan realized it – Plushtrap never cowered away from Nightmare, it was seeking for the help of his golden-colored counterpart. Nightmare Fredbear was inside the room. The boy looked at him with eyes wide as plates. Nightmare's ears moved up with a blink as it exchanged a menacing glance with his double. Nightmare Freddy slowly backed away as the larger bear stepped in, and looked away in respect. Nightmare Fredbear's attention was fully put into his darker version, who seemed to have calmed down immediately; even something as ruthless as Nightmare deemed some respect to the leader. Ryan wanted to see the scene, but he couldn't bring himself to flash the light as it could ruin everything. Nightmare Fredbear snarled at Nightmare, successfully getting him to look away with a mumbling, bitter growl. The golden animatronic huffed sternly, and Nightmare soon got the message – 'go away or get what you deserve'. The shadowy bear sure wasn't going to risk anything else, and listened to the command. He turned to leave, and Ryan could see his scarlet eyes glaring at him one last time before he disappeared into the depths of the blackness within the halls to never return until the child met with the seventh night again. Nightmare Fredbear looked at Nightmare Freddy, far more relaxed after the major threat was gone. With a slow movement, his tattered arm started to lift up. One of his clawed fingers pointed at the door. Nightmare Freddy followed the silent command, his ears hearing the noises of the rest of Nightmares wandering around the end of the corridors. The bear took the order without contemplations, it was better to have company rather than to be alone. Plus, after having saved Ryan, Nightmare Freddy didn't want to go back to his role of monster under the bed.

He lumbered towards the door and left to reunite with the rest, Nightmare Fredbear lowering his arm once the twisted Freddy Fazbear was gone. The Fredlets followed him, one of them stopping and curiously tilting its head at Ryan before dashing off. Plushtrap made its best impression of a smile at Nightmare Fredbear, and he almost seemed to smile back before looking at Ryan.

And then, he spoke.

"I'm sorry."


	6. Trusted

All noise was speechless.

Ryan's eyes were so wide in surprise he could hurt himself. Nightmare Fredbear just spoke, apologized to be exact. Coming from such cruel and deadly creatures as the Nightmares, the voice was highly expected to be demonic, dark, distorted, but it wasn't any of that. It was like the normal Fredbear's, melodic, soft, albeit his Nightmare version had a deeper tone, but it wasn't startling at all. Thousands of words wanted to escape Ryan's lips, but he couldn't talk from the shock. When did the bear learn to talk? He heard him making the same noises the rest of Nightmares made, how was he capable of such clear speech? More nonsense was deliberately thrown into the situation.

And what was Nightmare Fredbear apologizing for? Having tried to kill Ryan? Perhaps causing the infamous Bite? It remained a mystery, but whatever it was, the golden bear seemed deeply hurt about it. Ryan could see flooding sadness through those eyes when he looked past them. Despite being a mirror version of Nightmare, their eyes expressed far different things. While Nightmare's were filled with cruelty and malevolence, Nightmare Fredbear's had an overwhelming amount of sorrow in them, and it overpowered the tiny malice etched on them.

"I… I didn't mean to bring you here…" the bear spoke with grief. Ryan finally realized what he was talking about, trying to apologize for killing him. Just like his brother. And if he didn't accept sorry once, why would he accept a second one? But he couldn't let the words out yet, no matter what he wanted to say. He was too shocked about the bear suddenly talking, about all the pain that was filling his eyes. Was he truly sorry? It looked like so. His ears lowered a bit as he continued, "Please, you have to understand that… I didn't mean any of this to happen…"

Ryan wanted to say so many things, but not even he understood why he was unable to talk. Maybe it was the fact that his killer was talking and apologizing to him, maybe because his sorrowed words reminded him of the way his brother spoke to him at the hospital, maybe it was something else. "I'm sorry." Nightmare Fredbear repeated.

And then, Ryan understood.

He knew why Nightmare Fredbear had protected him and was so saddened. It all suddenly made sense. He had been so wrong for blaming the animatronic for the accident. In the real word, Fredbear was just a robot. Lifeless and programmed to sing childish songs. A robot was unable to think, to know what was happening around it. A robot was unable to cause an accident purposely. By the other side, a living, sentient and intelligent creature as Nightmare Fredbear was, he could understand the situations that surrounded him, he could understand what happened in the past and present. Ever since Ryan awakened in his never-ending nightmare he had been blaming both his brother and Fredbear, but the animatronic wasn't guilty in any way. But then… why was he laughing at him?

Unless…

Nightmare Fredbear had never been laughing. All the Nightmares were split on two sides – the Nightmare side and the animatronic side. The animatronic side was obscured, thrown away by the greed and desire to kill of the Nightmare side to the point of being completely non-existent, but Nightmare Fredbear had managed to overpower it even if it was still partially controlling him. It meant that he was both laughing… and crying. His demonic side wanted him to end what he had started, his good side told him to fix the mess he had caused. Ryan's eyes sparkled with realization, and the bear noticed it. He felt happiness grow upon him, he recognized an expression like that.

"It… it all makes sense…" Ryan mumbled. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry… I blamed you when you didn't do anything…" He sounded like he was about to cry. Beneath that haunting grin that Nightmare Fredbear always sported, there was a mellow smile filled with joy. "I-I'm sorry for having called you a monster…" Ryan said sheepishly. "You didn't deserve that."

"That is nothing compared to what happened to you. You are the one who didn't deserve any of this."

Ryan looked up at him, his lips pulling a gentle smile. He had always been afraid of the animatronics, but he had never seen the sweet, caring side of one. Mostly because they couldn't show it. However, the smile disappeared into a worried, crooked frown. "But… what about the others?" Nightmare Fredbear didn't seem comfortable with that question.

"The fact that I won't harm you doesn't mean that they will change." he said sternly. "Freddy helped you because I ordered him to, but that is the last favor you'll witness from him, or any of the others. They are _not_ your friends, and will never be." Ryan looked down, musing. He wanted the Nightmares to give a change, to look further into their greed and see the light of their kindness that remained hidden from them. It looked like that was never going to happen, and the excitement the kid felt for a chance of being able to form a friendship with the Nightmares faded away. Nightmare Fredbear gave a sigh, and with a calmer tone, continued, "They are dangerous. No matter how many times I command them to leave you alone, they won't listen more than once. They will be active for the next and last night, but they won't attack you. After that night, it will all reset and you'll have to fight for your life again." He noticed how Ryan was looking at him with that eerie, almost hopeless expression. "I know, but nothing here is fair."

Plushtrap nuzzled Ryan's arm with his large head, trying to comfort him. He didn't like what had been told to him. He wanted everything and everyone to leave him alone. Just the thought of having to restart everything like that little scene had never happened… The eight night was the only night of peace, and then everything would again be a nightmare. At least, with Nightmare Fredbear having met his animatronic side, he wouldn't bother him and so the fifth and end of the sixth night would be calm… he hoped.

"I understand." Ryan acknowledged. "But, if something happens… will you be there?"

Nightmare Fredbear took a while to reply, and nervousness filled Ryan when he looked through those scarlet eyes and saw the reflection of doubt. "I'll do what I can." he finally replied. It was hard to admit the truth – if any of the Nightmares got Ryan before he could run away, Nightmare Fredbear wouldn't have time to arrive at the scene. That was one of the reasons of why the child started to fear Nightmare Freddy and Nightmare Foxy in an awful way, even more than before. There were slim chances to get away from the knavish rabbit and the sly chicken, but escaping from the other two was more of a deathly challenge. At least he wouldn't have to endure the terror of the eight night.

The golden bear looked up to glance at the clock. It was 5 AM, and the seventh night was just about to end. There wasn't much time left. "The night is coming to an end." he told Ryan, who looked behind to check the time. "Take the next one as a well deserved rest, and please be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you." The last sentence warmed up the kid's heart. Nightmare Fredbear did care about him, Ryan couldn't help but think of how hurtful it had to be for him to realize what he had done.

"Thank you." the boy said kindly, putting up probably one of the most gleeful smiles he ever directed at someone. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled that way, it had to be somewhere far, far in the past, when his life was actually something to be happy about. When his brother wasn't a bully and instead was a cheerful kid. Good times, pity they'd never repeat.

Nightmare Fredbear had that mild smile skulked beneath the toothy grin as he gave a sideways glance at the boy before leaving with heavy footsteps stomping on the carpet. Once seen it couldn't be unseen, the bear was full of mystery and goodness. It was something worth pondering; if he was gentle, why couldn't the other Nightmares be as well? Ryan wanted to find it out. It was a huge risk, it was a folly, the boy even started to question if he was going crazy but he knew perfectly well he wasn't. He'd find it out the next night, when everything remained calm and he had a chance to observe the neglected animatronics' demeanor 'safely'.

Not long after Nightmare Fredbear's footsteps fainted in the halls, the alarm clock chimed 6 AM. Plushtrap gave Ryan a gentle croon, limply sitting next to him. "What? Don't you want to play as always?" he asked it, confusion etched on his face. Plushtrap gave a waiting purr – it was letting Ryan decide whether to play or stay in the bedroom. He cogitated about it, and he just needed that to realize how tired he was. The near death he had when the flashlight mistake occurred, the search for Plushtrap, the encounter with Nightmare, all that had drained his strength. "I'm really not in the mood to do anything," he admitted shyly. "Do you mind if I stay here this time?" The plushie shook its head nonchalantly. It was all fine. It stood up, rather shakily, and nuzzled him sweetly until he fell down on his rear. Ryan couldn't keep in a little giggle at the affections of the living toy. It seemed to have gotten a liking towards him, probably because he was the only company it had.

And while it was true that Plushtrap had anger issues, especially concerning its games, it was still as friendly as a friend Ryan had his entire life.


	7. Encouraged

Ryan heaved a long sigh.

He had sat on the bed, holding the lit flashlight almost limply as he thought of what Nightmare Fredbear had told him. He still believed there was some fondness on the animatronics. If the bear and Plushtrap were friendly, why couldn't the others be as well? It wasn't impossible. Then again, Plushtrap wasn't really a Nightmare animatronic. It was more of a neutral thing that changed between a ridiculously sweet side and a bitter side instead of carrying a constant aggressive behavior, so it being so friendly didn't mean the Nightmares could go to that level of sympathy towards him, and it wasn't the best character to make the comparison with. It was also worth including that the Nightmares had always been trying to kill Ryan while Plushtrap only unleashed its anger on him on certain situations. But no matter what, he was still going to believe that there was a possibility to charm the Nightmares, to make them friendly or at least stable. Ryan just knew there was a way, but what way, he'd have to find it out by himself.

He almost began to show a little smile as he had in mind the idea. It hadn't go to a full delighted smile for the simple fact that the Nightmares were mindless killers, but maybe between all that hatred there was goodness that awaited for someone to take it out. As he pondered the possibilities, he felt like something was behind him. He honestly had that feeling all the time, but he wouldn't be relaxed until he made sure there wasn't anything with him except for Plushtrap. He looked over his shoulder with a slight frown, and flinched off the bed with a whispering gasp. Plushtrap darted its sight towards Ryan when it heard him, but calmed down at what it saw. It was just one of the Fredlets.

It seemed to have grown curious about Ryan. He was sure it was the one who got its interest caught towards him last night, but there really wasn't any cue to tell. Maybe the Fredlets had different gashes and tears on their small bodies but Ryan sure didn't pay attention to that. The little bear just looked at him and Plushtrap inquisitively as the kid slowly moved the flashlight downwards in a way where it'd still illuminate the room dimly; he knew the Fredlets, or any of the Nightmares in general, didn't like bright lights shining on their faces. The demonic plushie flickered its white-eyed gaze towards the flashlight before looking back at Ryan with a flap of its round ears. What the kid didn't know was that moving bright lights away from any Nightmare's eyes was a sign of respect towards them that could calm them down momentarily; if there was any way for him to be aware of that he'd have higher chances of befriending his little companions.

"Uh… hi?" Ryan said shyly, not knowing if the Fredlet would understand him or not. But much to his surprise, it uttered a chirp. Could they understand speech? It was unlikely, but everything was possible, and even more in a weird, twisted dream. "Can you… can you understand me?" Ryan couldn't help stuttering from time to time. Not only was he confused as to whether the Fredlet could actually understand him or not, but it was also the third time a Nightmare hadn't acted aggressively towards him, excluding Plushtrap's befriending. The Fredlet tilted its head lightly. Ryan didn't expect much to happen, but that was then when the little bear nodded briefly.

That brightened a smile on the boy. Talking to the Nightmares could be enough to get them to see their good side. It was probably not going to work though, but trying never hurt anyone. Ryan still knew perfectly well that trying to talk some sense into the Nightmares was the same as trying to talk some sense into a hungry lion –some simple words were not going to calm down vicious beasts. He needed something more.

Plushtrap nuzzled his arm with an urged purr, getting all of his attention. It limply pointed at the flashlight, then at the Fredlet. "Are you trying to tell me something?" Ryan asked, and the plushie nodded at him. He figured out it was a guessing game with no much effort, and fortunately Ryan was good at those things. He remembered perfectly that when he was about five years old, he would play guessing games with his brother, and he almost always won. And no matter how many time had passed, he still had his tricks. He knew loads of motions and expressions, it was no challenge for him.

Plushtrap again pointed at the flashlight and made the gesture of bringing it down. "Pull down the flashlight?" Ryan easily guessed, receiving another nod from the golden rabbit. It then pointed at the Fredlet again, backed away a couple of short steps and bowed its head as if showing respect. "They… they fear it?" the kid conjectured, frowning as he was unsure what the gesture meant. Plushtrap shook its head and repeated the bowing. "Respect…?" Ryan mumbled, and he got a bright look from the plushie. "They respect… they- no, they feel respected?" Plushtrap gave a happy caw, letting him know he was right. Ryan sure was good at guessing.

He glanced at the flashlight illuminating the carpet. He could talk to the Nightmares and show respect towards them, two ways of calming them down. But he needed something else, however he had no idea what it could be. He almost felt wishful to try his new tactic, but at the same time he was afraid of the consequences. Everything could end perfectly fine, or terribly wrong. The latter was not wanted to take place.

"Do you think the Nightmares can be… befriended?" Ryan asked the idling plushies. There was no reply coming from them, but they gave a quiet trill that sounded really doubtful afterwards. They probably thought the idea was crazy - and it was indeed, Ryan was not going to deny that.

"Well, I guess I'll have to try it." he sighed, turning to leave before being stopped by Plushtrap as it got on his way with a worried warble. Ryan was surprised at how much the plushie cared about him, even if they had been friends for only a short period of time. Plushtrap must've grown fond of him since the first time they met, it was a fact. It had to be. The Fredlet voiced a gleeful chirrup, almost as if encouraging Ryan to follow his plan. Those little devils really were friendlier than Nightmare Freddy, probably because the 'respectful action' of moving the glow of the flashlight away from its eyes drained any malevolence floating around it. The kid smiled, and turned to look back at Plushtrap. It still had preoccupation growing upon it.

"Hey, I know this is dangerous," Ryan started kindly. "but think about what might happen if this goes right. Imagine having the Nightmares as our friends, everything would be happy, everything would be alright." His joyful expression suddenly faded into a saddened one. "I can't take this torture anymore, and I know you don't want to lose me. If I- if _we_ don't try, there'll be no more time left for us to take a second chance." He pulled a gentle smile, arching his eyebrows expectantly as he asked, "What do you say?" Plushtrap was clearly having a quarrel with itself. It wanted to help it all change for the better, but it was worried things may not go as planned.

Again, trying never hurt anyone.

The stuffed rabbit looked at him with its beady eyes, and tried to smile as best as it could. "So the thing's settled then." Ryan proudly announced for himself. He wasn't going to bother Nightmare Freddy, probably slumbering, and Nightmare Foxy wasn't his willing choice, so he had to pick between the rabbit and the chicken who were at the end of the halls, hinted by their hisses sounding from afar. Or maybe both at the same time, only time would tell. Ryan turned to face the Fredlet as he said, "What do you think? Will this work?" Its head tilted to the side, mulling about the question. One of its ears flapped in a circular movement as it gave a pretty confident-sounding chirp. Everyone started to seem content with the completely crazy idea, and it was fuel for Ryan to boost his plan.

Suddenly, quick footsteps that sounded all so familiar invaded the room, accompanied by the creak of certain shuttered door. How not, Nightmare Foxy had wandered into the closet. But Ryan wasn't anywhere near as startled as he would be any other night. He knew well that the fox liked dark, lonely places for him to be alone. It was a unique trait he shared with the real life Foxy. None of them liked to be in groups or near crowds, so it was safe to assume that Nightmare Foxy only wanted his own space and didn't want to attack. And Ryan found the moment well-timed. If he happened to stumble upon the fox while he was outside the bedroom, he would be in some huge trouble. Nightmare Foxy was pretty aggressive and Ryan was sure he was still angry for losing his chance to taste blood.

The kid walked slowly towards the right door, Plushtrap following him. The Fredlet soon tossed itself down the bed as the two friends got on their way to leave and do the most insane thing they ever did. Nerves caught up with them, it was almost annoying. They were going to face death itself, what were they expecting?

Ryan had no doubts about having seen Nightmare Foxy's glaring eyes when he took a last glance at the closet.

He turned off the flashlight when he and Plushtrap, leading the way just in case, walked past the middle of the hall. His pace was starting to get slower, fear was eating him alive. Each step he took was a step closer to his worst nightmares. "A-are you sure you still want to do this?" he asked Plushtrap, who made such a sudden halt the kid almost fell over him. It looked at him with a mad glare, uttering a low hoarse growl. "Yes, I know I'm the one who wanted to do this, b-but now… It's just… You understand me right?" The plush toy sharpened its glare, walked behind Ryan, and pushed him forward with its head. He looked at the end of the hall, then at Plushtrap and then at the end of the hall once more. Such a famous scene; you want to do something crazy, but at the end fear pulls you back when you're about to carry your idea out.

"I-I think it's better if we just go back…" Ryan murmured, already turning around to go back to the 'safety' of the bedroom. But Plushtrap remained still in front of him, narrowing its eyes with a bitter hiss. "You're not gonna let me leave until I try to befriend those things, are you?" As expected, Plushtrap shook its head. Ryan gave a displeased sigh, drawling, "Great…" He knew he had to get over his fear anyways. He had to try. He had the idea in mind, and it was about time to carry it out.


	8. Confronted

The kid took all the courage he could handle.

It was a huge risk and probably even a mistake, but he insisted to do it, so be it. Ryan knew Plushtrap was always going to be beside him, and if something went wrong, it'd be able to at least distract the Nightmares. That was one of those moments in which Plushtrap wished to not be a plushie. It sometimes felt disappointed of itself for being the most harmless creature wandering around the house. No razor-sharp teeth, no claws, no withered appearance, no glowing eyes… Even the Fredlets were more dangerous than it. At least it was useful for certain important things, but that wasn't enough for it.

Ryan almost understood how it was feeling with a quick look at its eyes, depressed and unsure, but he didn't know what exactly was bothering it. It had to be hard to be the different one, even though Plushtrap knew perfectly well that there was only one other who was different and basically defenseless from the rest, and that was the kid exchanging a gentle gaze with it. It wasn't alone and that was all it needed to throw the gloomy thoughts away.

"You don't need to feel bad." Ryan told it kindly. The grinning plushie seemed startled when it heard those words, almost as if Ryan had read its mind. "I may not know what you're thinking about," Plushtrap relaxed a bit after knowing Ryan wasn't a mind-reading magician. "but there is something bothering you. I don't want you to be sad, or worried. You made me feel better before, so now it's my turn. We will be together in this, won't we?" The stuffed rabbit gave a soft coo. It was like they just met and they already were soul mates.

Ryan never had a friend like Plushtrap. No one who truly cared for him, or treated him as a real friend. Maybe some kiddo around his age was nice from one time to another, but it wasn't forever. He felt like he didn't belong, as if everyone kept forgetting him. He remembered that fateful day in which he died, how his brother treated him like a stranger, like a stupid whining brat he had never seen.

Plushtrap had gone through the same, almost. It never got any respect from the Nightmares. All because it was different, because it lacked what all the others had, because it didn't think like them.

Rejected for being different, both had the same story.

Ryan gave the plushie a small nod to get going, but it uttered a low, warning caw that stopped him. There apparently was one more thing he needed to know. "More guessing?" Ryan asked, Plushtrap nodding at him quickly. It looked at him, looked away, and growled lowly. The boy was thoughtful for a moment. "I have to… look at them…?" he started. The plushie repeated the look away and growl motions. "I have to… keep looking at them, or they become angry?" Plushtrap nodded.

Apparently, if he broke eye contact with the Nightmares, that'd be his last mistake. How nice.

He turned on the flashlight to have the chance to try the 'respect' method he learned about. It was impossible to tell if the Nightmares would react the same way as the plushies did, they were far more dangerous after all. Ryan looked at the table that momentarily saved his life a few nights ago as he walked by, the four holes where Nightmare Bonnie's claws sank in sent fear right into the kid. He was quick to push it away, he narrowed his eyes and kept walking. He couldn't back down once the Nightmares saw him. It was now or never.

Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica idled at the end of the halls, directing low growls at each other. They were bored, it was clear. The white glimmer of the flashlight caught the corner of the rabbit's eye, making him sharply turn around with a warning growl that got Nightmare Chica's attention. The first thing they thought was where on Earth Ryan got the bravery to personally expose himself to terrible danger. A bubbling growl came from Nightmare Bonnie as Nightmare Chica trilled deeply. Another thought erased the previous one completely; Nightmare Fredbear ordered them to not attack, but he hadn't say anything about Ryan apparently wanting to die by the completely mindless action of getting out of the bedroom.

Soon enough, Ryan walked into their sight. An explosion of terror thundered through his body, begging him to go back, but he wasn't going to abandon his plan, not even when standing some feet away from killer machines whose eyes pierced into him. He had to grow up. He had to be strong, like the Fredbear plushie always told him.

He had in mind how the light was going directly towards their glowing eyes. Ryan slowly and carefully moved it down, and just to be safer and appear more reliant, he slightly crouched and put the flashlight down with a soft thud. It barely rolled away from him, the Nightmares following its small movement, Nightmare Chica tilting her head as she puffed air through her nostrils, before panning their attention back to the kid.

The growling had almost stopped.

Ryan grew more confident, but he had to remain wary. The Nightmares were too unpredictable and hostile to let the guard down just yet. They were somewhat curious about what he had in mind and clearly interested, otherwise they would've attacked already, but it was nothing compared to how vicious their looks were. Ryan took a deep intake of breath and confidently said, "I'm not afraid of you." There were looks of complete surprise on the Nightmares' toothy faces. Not only Ryan just faced them directly, but he also told them he wasn't afraid like nothing. As Plushtrap had 'told' him, he didn't break eye contact with them at any moment. It was hard, their glares were ferocious and horrifying, though they appeared to be more equable after the ridiculously brave action. Even that mouthed, golden-eyed cupcake Nightmare Chica always held seemed to be staring at him maliciously but inquisitively at the same time.

The chicken was much calmer than Nightmare Bonnie, and Ryan started to understand the animatronic side the Nightmares had – Bonnie had always been the spitfire, while Chica was an observant one. Those personalities appeared to be reflected there, just in a quite belligerent manner.

As Ryan maintained eye contact, he couldn't stop focusing on those teeth. Now that their jaws were fully closed, he could see how the teeth fitted together like a prey dog's. Those teeth wouldn't let go once they caught a good hold something. They were sharp enough to leave severe marks on a rock and dent metal. Only thinking about it all caused fear to strike upon Ryan again, and the Nightmares noticed it, causing them to start growling lowly. Plushtrap peered at the scene, remaining hidden among the darkness. It knew something was about to go wrong, it just hoped Ryan would be able to handle it.

When he heard the growls, Ryan felt like he couldn't control his fear anymore. He couldn't wipe it away no matter how much he wanted and _needed_ to. He had to stop his nervousness, it was only tempting the Nightmares. Their curiosity was forgotten and replaced by spiteful virulence. If Ryan didn't calm down, the glimpse of bloodthirsty teeth and claws was going to be his last sighting before vanishing out of existence.

Plushtrap was about to interfere, voicing a light growl. It didn't want to jump into action yet though, it knew Ryan would find a way to soothe the animatronics. But it had to be soon, because they were starting to lose their short patience.

"Hey, c-c-calm down…" the kid managed to say, slowly raising his outspread hand. Nightmare Bonnie clamped his jaws shut at the air menacingly, a shrill snap echoing all through the house, sounding so harsh Ryan even winced and immediately pulled his hand away in shock. The thoughts on the now angry rabbit were clear; who did that kid think he was to give him orders? Nightmare Chica's heavily toothed lower jaw quivered as she hissed. Her remaining, expressionless golden eye seemed to be brighter out of anger. Plushtrap's growling became a quiet snarl as it stood several feet away behind Ryan, ready to jump in and protect him even if it put itself in peril.

That was until what no one was expecting happened. The Nightmares were one second away from pouncing when Ryan suddenly screamed, _"Enough!"_


	9. Soothed

Utter surprise sprawled everywhere.

Ryan had no idea of what had gotten into him to yell like that. All he knew was that the commanding scream came right out of his soul like a reflex action. He was impressed at himself for voicing such a confident shriek, but he was even more impressed at how it immediately calmed down the Nightmares.

Plushtrap seemed to give a relieved sigh before backing further into the shadows; the situation was under control, for now. The Nightmares were shocked, their growling had fully ceased and their eyes were wide. Even the cupcake was startled. Ryan needed a couple of seconds to get out of his confusion before looking at the two animatronics in front of him, waiting for something else to happen. Their looks were no longer threatening, though they still looked unfriendly. Apparently, the third way to soothe the Nightmares was to remain fully confident and not be afraid of yelling an order if necessary. And the kid realized.

They _listened_ to him.

They actually listened to commands, or firm voices that lacked fear in general. Any mindless beast with its only purpose being kill anything that stood on its way wouldn't listen to anyone, but the Nightmares stopped their impending attack. It could be because they were astonished, but they still stopped and that was all that mattered. Ryan needed to be trustful, that was the only way the animatronics would stop acting like wild beasts towards him.

Fear powered them.

Bravery soothed them.

They were made to scare everything and anything. If their prey was not afraid at all, they felt like they had no reasons to attack. No reasons to show their Nightmare side. But Ryan needed more than a dominant scream to subdue them. He needed to have faith on himself, to not let fear take over him, he needed to show the Nightmares that he wasn't a crybaby and was stouthearted enough to confront them. He already knew how he had to act, and he was not going to throw it all down the drain. It was his perfect chance to try and befriend the Nightmares. "That's right, you stay there." he ordered with narrowed eyes. It was like all of the bravery he had hidden was coming out with no way to stop it – and Ryan was completely fine with that. It felt great to face his biggest fears. Mostly because he thought he never could.

Nightmare Bonnie tilted his head a little. If he wasn't as calm as he was, he probably would've gotten mad at the order. He despised doing what others told him to, but his intrigue was so huge he let it go that one time. Ryan felt how a grin started filling his face. "I am _not_ afraid of you." he repeated, sounding louder and clearer than before. "Yes, you don't scare me anymore. I am not a weeper, and I'm showing it to both of you!" Needless to say, the Nightmares were astounded at the courage Ryan was showing. They sure didn't expect him to be like that, ever.

Nothing lesser than them had stood in their way. Now that it was finally happening, they were unsure about what to do. A few commands, however, weren't going to make them see Ryan as a friend. A friendship with them wasn't forged in five minutes, many more things were required in order to free their animatronic side. "And now, you two are gonna leave me alone." Ryan said firmly, receiving an annoyed huff from Nightmare Bonnie and a stern chitter from Nightmare Chica. They had their limits, they weren't going to stop their routine so easily. The confidence suddenly tried to run away, but Ryan got it back as he said, "You have no reasons to be like this." The Nightmares uttered quiet growls at the softer tone. "What's the point anyways? I know you have a good side in you, you just can't show it. It's useless to be a mindless killer. Why would it be the best choice? Why can't you act like your _real_ selves? It would be better for everyone, for you as well."

The growls ceased. The animatronic side deep within the Nightmares was listening delightfully. Ryan almost had it, his words were making the desired effect, it was up for the broken-down animatronics to choose. The kid was right, and there was nothing to deny. Maybe they were there to be ruthless monsters, but after they managed to accomplish their objective, what would be their next move? If Ryan died, the afterworld would disappear and the Nightmares would follow. However, if they formed a bond, they'd stay together as friends forever, always having fun, always with company. The nightmare would become a dreamland.

The Nightmares glanced at each other, almost sadly. Their instincts wanted them to snap out of it and attack, but once those truthful words were heard, there was no way they could be forgotten. They had never seen it that way, and the possibilities were so tempting… Having a true friend, never feel alone again… stay there forever, happily.

Plushtrap took a couple of steps forth without getting too out of the darkness, its eyes wide. Ryan was succeeding. His plan was working. The Nightmares were anything but willing to kill, and that was exactly what both he and the plushie wanted.

A familiar, beeping noise caught the kid's attention. It was 6 AM, time literally fled past the night as the little scene took place. He risked a glance behind him, seeing Plushtrap's silhouette waiting patiently, before looking back at the Nightmares. They heard the alarm clock as well. Nightmare Bonnie glanced at the expectant boy, and gave a quiet, almost gentle chitter.

It was a truce, for now.

The two animatronics disappeared among the shadows. Ryan gave a sigh so long and heavy he almost slumped over. All the while he had been holding a breath he wasn't about to let go, just to stay calm. The Nightmares would no longer be aggressive, but only if Ryan kept trying to reach their animatronic side. That was just the beginning of a long-lasting friendship.

Plushtrap walked next to him, giving him a congratulant chirrup. "We almost have it." Ryan said happily, petting the plushie's head in a friendly manner. He was so close. A few more encounters with the Nightmares and he'd have an afterlife to remember. Of course, there were certain bear and fox to be cared about yet. Nightmare Foxy would be the last one to befriend for sure.

Ryan and Plushtrap headed towards the bedroom silently. The next night was going to be relatively calm, since Nightmare Freddy would be the only threat, or maybe not even something to worry about. The Fredlets had gotten a liking towards Ryan and it was unlikely that they summoned the larger bear to attack. As the two friends walked through the hall, they heard Nightmare Foxy's footsteps running out of the bedroom. It was quite the relief to not have to deal with him.

But not everything was happy.

As Ryan turned to enter the bedroom, he only saw a brown mass standing tall in front of him. He jerked back immediately, Plushtrap making a short, alarmed chirp. Nightmare Freddy was waiting for them. And he was _angry_. His golden eyes glowered at Ryan as he snarled. The kid couldn't find the courage again, mostly because the encounter was not expected on the slightest. And then, the Fredlets appeared from behind the bear's bulky, tattered legs and stood between him and Ryan, hissing sharply. Nightmare Freddy stopped snarling and tilted his head in confusion. Why were his counterparts protecting that kid? Ryan couldn't keep in a little smirk; everything was going smoothly. He already got the Fredlets' trust and formed a slim relationship with Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica.

The boy glanced down at the Fredlets. Those little bears were probably his key to get Nightmare Freddy's friendship - he would never attack them, which by extension meant that he couldn't attack him. The bear was puzzled. He couldn't understand why his counterparts were so willing to protect Ryan. But there was nothing he could do about it. Nightmare Freddy snorted heavily, but the Fredlets didn't back down as they knew perfectly well that they weren't in any danger. It only annoyed their larger version, a lot.

One of the Fredlets, the one standing in the middle, turned to look at Ryan. That was probably the first one who got a liking towards him, so the kid made sure to be able to recognize it. It was the less damaged out of the three, and the only major harm on its body was a large tear on the top left side of its head, showing part of the endoskeleton as it made its way through its glowing white eyes. It uttered a chirp, which Plushtrap gave back, and Ryan smiled at it. He could've tried to calm down Nightmare Freddy, but he wasn't on the mood to raise his voice again, and the bear wasn't on the mood to listen at anyone. With a disappointed huff, Nightmare Freddy turned away from the door and stopped in the middle of the bedroom. He was eager to kill, but he couldn't.

He gave his minions a sideways glance, making a quiet grumble. The Fredlets chirped as they joined his side. "That was a close one," Ryan told Plushtrap, who purred in agreement. When the kid looked back at the bedroom, he was surprised at not finding sight of Nightmare Freddy. Just as if he vanished. Ryan shrugged, it was still a dream, everything was possible.

He felt tired. Not tired of simply being tired, tired of needing to sleep. He never felt that emotion, things were suddenly changing sporadically. Fortunately, it was all changing for the better. Ryan sat on the bed, leaving the flashlight next to him. He thought about how many things happened after a little accident. In fact, if he hadn't lit up the flashlight when he shouldn't have, the chain of events would have never happened.

Sometimes, mistakes are actually successes in one way or another.


	10. Rained

Distant hisses could be heard from the bedroom.

Ryan had an observant eye planted on both doors. He minutely listened to the calls of the Nightmares, they varied so much it was almost relaxing. The noises weren't voiced in an aggressive manner like they used to, instead they changed from enchanting to challenging, from wary to almost friendly. The Nightmares actually seemed to be social creatures that showed respect among themselves and didn't attack each other, like an unusual family.

The plushie showed curiosity as well, it was also glancing at the doors, tilting its head from time to time. A dripping noise was heard outside, one Ryan never heard before there, but could recognize perfectly. With a slight frown, he got off the bed, grabbing the flashlight as he did so, and slowly opened the right door with a soft creak. He peeked out the bedroom, pointing the light at the large window that showed nothing more than darkness outside.

Ryan squinted as he looked at the window, and saw it. Raindrops were pounding against the glass. It was raining. It was a thunderstorm to be exact, as the hall was briefly engulfed by a bright, purpleish-white glow, and the growling thunder came soon after. It had never rained there, and Ryan liked how it finally happened. He always loved rain, but rain alone; thunderstorms weren't his favorite thing. Nevertheless, he had gone through worse things, so his fear for lightning seemed to have relaxed.

The raindrops pounded harder against the glass after the thunderclap, soon all the silence was replaced by the restful sound of the rain. The Nightmares appeared to have gone quieter, they possibly liked rain as well, or just were curious about what it was. Plushtrap walked next to Ryan, showing inquisitiveness through its eyes. It was safe to assume that Plushtrap had never seen or heard rain before. "You don't know what rain is?" the kid asked it. Plushtrap looked at him innocently and shook its head. It didn't know the meaning of the word 'rain' either, but it assumed it was the event outside. Another lightning flash illuminated the hall as Ryan muttered, "How do I explain this…" The plushie tilted its head at him expectantly. "Rain is when lots of water drops fall off the sky." The boy looked at the wet glass of the window. "I always loved watching it." Plushtrap glanced at the window as well, uttering an almost fascinated trill.

Ryan was much calmer while hearing the rain. He started to feel even more tired, the sound of the raindrops falling to the ground was like a lullaby for him. He missed that sound so much.

He plodded back to the bed, Plushtrap following him as he sat on the edge. "You know? I'm starting to like being here." he said with a smile, looking at the ceiling almost lost in thought. The golden bunny wheezed sweetly. Ryan no longer had reasons to be absolutely terrified. He and Plushtrap got along swimmingly, Nightmare Fredbear was close to a friend and his protector, and the Nightmares would, hopefully, soon be as kind and friendly as the animatronics in real life were.

It seemed like the only problem left was Nightmare, but Ryan wouldn't pay that much attention. He was sure that, for when the seventh night arrived again, he'd already be living in a dreamland.

He gave the alarm clock a quick peer. It was 1 AM, but despite that being the hour in which Nightmare Foxy would already be running everywhere, the only sound heard was the storm outside, and the fleeting noises of the Nightmares. It was a fact that he'd start his race soon, but as long as he didn't do so, everything would be alright.

But.

Ryan's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered what Nightmare Fredbear had told him. _"After that night, it will all reset and you'll have to fight for your life again."_ There were no reasons to be afraid of any Nightmare, exempting Nightmare Foxy. Ryan had no 'friendly' contact with him yet, and he was precisely the most aggressive in the group. And well-timed, there were his frantic footsteps. Plushtrap made a worried coo as it looked at Ryan, but he just smiled at it, "Don't worry, I've got everything under control." He'd be worried if he had to fend off everyone, but it was the fox alone, so it wasn't a big deal. It had never been hard to stop him anyways. Ryan wanted to try and talk some sense into him, but when he was in the mood of attacking it was better to just play his game. Ryan would find another chance.

There wasn't any other cue of walking outside, so Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica weren't lurking. Ryan was glad they actually did stop their attack. As he waited for Nightmare Foxy's arrival, he only focused on the rain and the thunder. It scared the nerves away, it was almost like a gift. It was possible that, if he kept listening to the water falling down, Nightmare Foxy wouldn't attack due to the kid being completely calm instead of scared. Even if the broken-down fox was overly hostile, there was still a possibility that he acted just like the others at not being able to spot fear.

Plushtrap started growling lightly as the hasty running went from left to right. Ryan looked at it and warily said, "Don't try to fight him." The stuffed toy stopped growling and looked at him innocently. "If you try to ward him off, you'll only make him angrier."

During their little talk, Nightmare Foxy took his chance to sneak into the closet, alerting them of his presence as the shuttered door creaked. Ryan took a deep breath. He had to be calm or everything was going to be a disaster. He listened to the rain only, closing his eyes momentarily as he waited for the soothing noise of the raindrops drain any hint of fear or nervousness. From the darkness of the closet, cold golden eyes glowered at him, but seemed to soften at not sensing fear.

Ryan felt like he could actually befriend Nightmare Foxy right there without having to wait. It was a risk, but it sure wasn't the only one he had taken already. And just like he had done with Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica, he calmly said, "I am not afraid of you." There was a sullen growl in response, which Plushtrap was about to give back but thought better about it. He mustn't interfere with Ryan's actions. The kid felt threatened at the growl, but he kept listening at the rain and relaxed. "Try to scare me, you'll fail. I don't have reasons to fear you or the others anymore, because I know that you all are hiding a kind self that you don't want to show." Another growl came, lower, and Ryan knew Nightmare Foxy was just trying to act as if he wasn't listening, as a tough one. He was a fighter that tended to refuse believing the truth.

"If you don't want to listen to me, fine. You'll be the only one who won't see things a different way then." Ryan was unsure if Nightmare Foxy believed that the others had let go of their murderous instincts, but them not being around gave the fox a suspicious atmosphere. His eyes disappeared into the darkness, he clearly wanted time of his own. Great, another threat less.

"I know he'll understand," Ryan muttered for himself, Plushtrap purring in agreement. It was almost funny how Nightmare Foxy was a direct mirror of his brother. Stubborn, always doing things his way. But even that animatronic was better than him, because at least he knew when to stop.

Knowing nothing else would bother him, Ryan walked towards the door, leaving the flashlight on the bed. Leaving it reasonably open, he sat in front of it and enjoyed the storm as if that was the only thing around him. He had never felt so happy in his afterlife. It looked like the storm was some kind of helpful event the dream had planned for him as a reward for having the courage to face his fears, because not only it appeared to calm down the Nightmares, but also fought against fear flawlessly. Plushtrap slumped next to its friend and listened to the rain as well. Never having heard it, the plushie seemed to love it as much as Ryan did.


	11. Asked

A curious snout peeked out of the closet.

Carefully sliding one of the shuttered doors open with his hook, Nightmare Foxy peeked out his favorite hiding spot to look at what was going around. He had been pondering about Ryan's words, his Nightmare side had been restlessly trying to kick them out but the animatronic side kept them lit.

Emitting a constant grumble, barely audible, Nightmare Foxy looked at the right door with an almost innocent head tilt. Ryan sat against the fully opened door, with the flashlight off and limp on his hands as he stared at the window, his eyes half-open. Plushtrap was sitting right underneath the wet window, its eyes were fully closed even though it wasn't sleeping – despite being sentient beings, no Nightmare had the capacity to sleep, nor the need to. It was probably just relaxed at having the rain so close.

The thunder had stopped growling a little while ago, and this only sent peace and calmness among the night. A soothing noise and no threats to be seen, Ryan could barely recognize his afterlife anymore. To think he had gone from almost dying to safely rest with nothing to worry about… it was unbelievable. Nightmare Foxy's lower jaw quivered as he gave a faint gurgle. He was confused; he wanted to attack, especially at having such a perfect opportunity, but his body wouldn't respond at that desire. There was an echoing warble coming from the end of the halls that caused his ears to move up immediately as his gaze went directly towards the parallel door, twinkling golden eyes showing a will to reunite with the rest. Ryan didn't feel bothered by the noise, so he hadn't yet noticed the hidden fox standing mere feet away from him. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on the water outside.

Knowing he was going to be unable to carry an attack, Nightmare Foxy slithered out of the closet and trotted towards the left door with a soft grunt that Ryan caught. He opened an eye to look at the apparently empty bedroom, it wasn't like there was much to be seen without the light. But he already recognized each animatronic's distinctive footsteps, and was fully aware that Nightmare Foxy left. There was a small smile on the kid's face as he closed his observant eye and focused on the rain. He could imagine himself standing under the cold raindrops, being surrounded by the few happy memories he could remember.

* * *

After a while, the most peaceful one Ryan had yet, the alarm clock screamed 6 AM, successfully taking him out of his thoughts and startling Plushtrap. The rain was already stopping, and only a few weak drops could be heard. Plushtrap stood up wearily, making a gentle chitter as it did so. It looked tired as well. "You wanna go back to your hallway, right?" Ryan conjectured, noticing how truly sleepy-looking the plushie was. It looked at the other door and nodded, but almost as if it was ashamed of doing so. "You can go back if you want, I'm fine." the kid assured, but Plushtrap seemed worried about the answer, uttering a croon to make clear it didn't want to leave him alone. "Come on, trust me, nothing can happen now. If you want go, then go." Ryan had that childishly innocent expression, and the plushie found itself unable to refuse the chance to have some time of its own. "You are starting to act like a babysitter," he sneered, and Plushtrap only snorted at the mock.

It whirled and dashed towards the end of the hall, but just halfway there it came to a halt and looked back at its friend. Ryan motioned forward with his head, and the golden rabbit managed to make a simper before disappearing into the darkness. The also tired boy stood up almost limply and walked towards the bed, turning on the flashlight before sitting on the edge, and simply looked at the empty space around him. He heard the usual barking dog, the car's engine, nothing was new and he deeply wished there was something else happening outside, aside from the brief storm.

Out of boredom, his fingers tapped against the blanket almost unwittingly. Ryan pulled his arm up suddenly with a short, silent gasp when something touched it, but he recovered his smile when he noticed it was the first Fredlet he had befriended. And much to his surprise, it curled up next to him, purring just like Plushtrap. It was somewhat adorable how those things could be so affectionate all of a sudden. Ryan ran a hand across the little bear's tiny body, it was full of strikingly short fur, soft like a cat's or a dog's. "Everything I knew about you all was… wrong…" he muttered in realization, after having seen such a dangerous creature turn into a cuddly pet. Ryan wondered if all the Nightmares could get to that point of lovingness after building up enough trust, but it was maybe too affectionate for them. It was clear that the plushies were mellower than the full-sized animatronics anyways.

Shortly after that, the two remaining Fredlets hopped onto the bed. One sat next to Ryan while the other curled up almost on top of the first one, trying to get some space, causing it to hiss lowly – more irritated than angered.

Ryan couldn't get rid of his smile.

* * *

After the clock had struck 2 AM, Ryan was walking down the right corridor, flashlight guiding his way forward. He wanted to try and strengthen the bond with the Nightmares while he could. He felt frightened at not having Plushtrap around him, but it was about time he took his own decisions with no one to back him up, at least once. During his almost entire life he had been relying on what the Fredbear plushie told him, he never thought up his own decisions without having someone to be with him in case it all went wrong. That was about to change.

He tried to calm himself down, he couldn't be afraid around the Nightmares. A bad move, and goodbye. He kept reminding himself it was all going to be alright, but even so he really needed someone around him to be fully confident. If he wanted to be brave, though, he'd have to rely on himself. Only himself.

As usual, Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica were aimlessly walking around. The fox was nowhere to be found, which was rather weird. Like the past time, Nightmare Bonnie was the first to notice the glimmer of the flashlight, but was far more unflustered and didn't emit the lightest growl – same with the chicken standing next to him. Ryan turned off the flashlight before meeting the animatronics face to face, they already had gotten the respect they needed. The kid maintained a prudential distance between him and the animatronics, the fact that there was a truce didn't mean they could just snap and strike if something wasn't done correctly.

Ryan tried to act as if he wasn't partially scared, and as firmly as he could, he said, "I need to know things about you." The Nightmares looked at him expectantly, there didn't seem to be any kind of goodness in those glowing eyes yet. "What is the purpose of attacking?" The question appeared to have gone deep into the animatronics. There was nothing that could serve as an answer, but there was a quiet wail from the rabbit. "You don't know, do you?" Nightmare Chica slightly lowered her sight, Nightmare Bonnie only huffed. Ryan knew he was making progress, the rabbit hated questions, and he would've attacked if it wasn't for the non-existent fear. "I know you are better than this. You all are kind, why can't you just act like that? Why would it be a problem?"

He truly wished the Nightmares could speak or have more detailed expressions; all they had of communication were growls, and they didn't tell much at all. It was the manner in which they were uttered what would give away their responses. It was clear that the animatronics wanted to explain the situation somehow, but it was terribly hard due to the complete lack of words. And the answer to Ryan's question _needed_ to be told via words, it was fully impossible to reply with noises, or gestures. Seeing how the Nightmares were uncomfortable with the unanswered question, Ryan skipped it understandingly. He wouldn't force them to do something they obviously couldn't, even if curiosity was eating him alive. "Do you like being the way you are? Murderous machines? I know you're too intelligent to be mindless killers, but I'd like to know what goes through your minds."

Nightmare Bonnie's glowing eyes looked down at the carpet, Nightmare Chica gave a slow trill. It didn't look like they liked being the way they were. But the eye can often deceive, a thoughtful expression didn't mean the Nightmares regretted anything. Ryan had the foreboding that they were going to answer one way or another, so he waited patiently. Nightmare Chica looked up at him. She slowly shook her head groggily. Nightmare Bonnie gave her a glance before looking back at the kid with a grumble, indicating he shared the same response.

Joy and surprise were mixed up as Ryan looked at the animatronics with wide eyes. They didn't like being killers.

But then…

Why were they attacking before, it they despised how they acted?

It wasn't only because of how horribly frightened Ryan was while trying to survive. It had to be something else. Something the kid didn't understand.


	12. Bored

Everything was so silent, it arrived to be nerve-racking.

Ryan had returned to the bedroom after a –quite failed– attempt to get some truth and facts from the Nightmares. There was something wrong going on, otherwise they wouldn't have been _uncomfortable_ with the questions asked. The kid knew there was a deep secret, hidden somewhere, waiting to be revealed. He only knew that the Nightmares did not want to kill or cause harm at all, he believed it was true due to Plushtrap's and the Fredlets' change of behavior, but he was willing to understand the why behind that. They were made to kill after all, there had to be a reason of why they didn't want to but did it anyways.

The bewilderment of it all was overwhelming, there were so many things to think about, to understand, to find. Everything had to, somehow, be connected. Maybe the dream was twisting everything. It was supposed to be a dreadful nightmare, and a nightmare was definitely not supposed to have the monsters help and be friendly around the victim, which was exactly what was happening there.

Ryan as always sat on the bed, baffled about what was happening. The more he pondered about it, the harder to understand it was, but questions were decided to be left for later; all that mattered was that he found a way to stay alive and not feel alone or afraid. His gaze was focusing on the left door only. Ryan was starting to miss Plushtrap, it was always there to protect him and make him smile. He wondered if the bunny missed him too, it probably was. He wanted to see how his best friend ran through the door and came back to his side, but it never happened. Ryan sighed. He still needed some time of his own, sometimes he just had to be alone with no one around, either friends or not. A brown blur caught the corner of his eye, when he looked at his right he saw one of the Fredlets glancing at the door as well. It looked at him curiously, or at least Ryan thought it was a curious look, with the small head tilt it gave–there wasn't much emotion to be told through those expressionless white orbs. All the Fredlets were being angels when they had been pretty involved on Ryan almost getting killed, it was strange, but the kid wasn't going to complain about it.

It nuzzled his arm up and rested on his lap. There was just no end to the affection of those little bears, and it was heart-warming for Ryan, but also odd. Just looking at the scene would make anyone go crazy in thought; he was petting a creature full of sharp teeth and it let him as if it was a spoiled, harmless animal, much like Plushtrap, just cuddlier.

He only wondered why they were so caring towards him, as if they felt completely lonely, when they had Nightmare Freddy's constant company. Then again, the larger bear might have been angry at his dwarfed counterparts for ruining his chance to attack, and wasn't giving them any of the attention they sought for. It was probably that, but Ryan couldn't contain his question, "Is Freddy mad at you?"

The Fredlet twitched one of its ears as the boy's hand caressed it, giving a piping trill that really sounded like a 'yes'. Ryan was getting into suspicions, he just found out the Nightmares didn't want to kill, but Nightmare Freddy was angry for not having done so. He needed to figure out what was behind the not-wanting-to-kill secret that was being held. Another must-do thing.

Ryan checked the time, not knowing what else to do. It had just turned to 5 AM, and he felt the need to do something. Even if it was just walk around, anything but sitting on the bed without doing a single thing. He was a second away from walking out of the bedroom when he remembered he had a small bear at the edge of falling asleep on his lap. Ryan let out a silent giggle as he, jokingly, asked, "Am I allowed to leave?" The Fredlet uttered a quite annoyed and frustrated croon, wearily shifting away. Ryan slid down the bed, taking the flashlight once he was on the floor, but he didn't leave without giving the bear a tender gaze, hardly noticing how there was an exaggerated, pouting sadness etched on those pinprick sized dots for eyes. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not going to be out there forever." The Fredlet made a soft chirp before hopping down the bed too quickly for the eye to follow, as paranormally as always.

He walked out of the bedroom, trying to mute the door's typical squeaking as he got outside. He looked at the dark end of the hall just in case–not worrying about Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica, rather about certain grumpy fox. Seeing how there were no gleaming eyes to greet him, he walked towards Plushtrap's hallway to see what the little demon was doing. The white light embraced the corridor, but the chair was empty. The plushie was probably hiding on any of the four rooms, or maybe even left. Having heard his quiet footsteps on the carpet, Plushtrap's shadowed head emerged from the close left doorway, a curious, brief hum following. "I was wondering where you were," Ryan giggled, setting the light aside from the bunny's sensitive eyes. Plushtrap trotted in front of him, clearly happy for having its best friend visiting it, even if they had only been separated for less than a single night. It showed how impatient it was.

It was more than obvious that Plushtrap wanted to stay with Ryan again, instead of being left alone on the lightless hall that had been its "home". It could be seen on its wide eyes that looked at the kid heartedly. He frowned slightly. "Oh, now you don't like being here so much anymore, do you?" Plushtrap looked away, as if ashamed, and gave a soft quaver, its lower jaw shivering. "It's okay," Ryan muttered kindly, getting the plushie to look up at him. "I wouldn't like to be here alone all the time either." He turned to leave back to the bedroom, looking over his shoulder. "You coming?" Plushtrap chirped happily and didn't hesitate to follow its buddy back to the bedroom.

The kid's hand pushed the door open, and Ryan took a glance at the hall when he heard a low thudding coming from somewhere nearby. Two purple eyes, belonging to Nightmare Bonnie, stared at the duo before vanishing into the darkness. Keeping his blue gaze on the spot where the unnerving animatronic had been, Ryan entered the bedroom with an almost worried expression. He didn't know if Nightmare Bonnie was there to know what he was doing, to simply observe him, or prowling around in a change of demeanor. A hostile change. Ryan hoped it wasn't that, because, having in mind how unstable and unpredictable the Nightmares were, it was completely possible that they went back to their hunt for the same unknown reason they were before.

Something clicked on his mind as he paced through the middle of the room, making him stop short on his tracks. He wanted to know the reason of the Nightmares' attacks, and now he had Plushtrap with him. The plushie seemed to know what was going on around the larger animatronics, and was an open book towards Ryan. Maybe it knew something, at least a hint of what could be happening. "Hey," he called for his friend, soon getting its attention. "Do you know if there's a reason of why they were attacking?" Plushtrap tilted its head at the question, and lowered it afterwards. It was cogitating about it, Ryan was sure it had an answer but he didn't know if it could be told via noises or gestures. It gave an affirmative coo as it looked up, seeing how a smile crossed the kid's face. Of course, the plushie didn't know how to explain it. Like the question that had been evaded by the Nightmares, only words could tell it. The boy understood that Plushtrap couldn't tell him what was going on, even if it wanted to.

It could be seen on its eyes that it would give loads of things to be able to speak. Maybe Ryan himself could teach it, but he saved that idea for later, when he had gained the Nightmares' full trust and everything was in harmony.

The smile on the kid's faded away, but not entirely. He couldn't blame Plushtrap for not being able to talk, at least it showed how much it wanted to help out. There was always another option though, he could ask Nightmare Fredbear about it. It was likely that he didn't want to talk about it, or became angry at Ryan for befriending the Nightmares, but he still believed and would always believe one thing.

Trying never hurt anyone.


	13. Discovered

The alarm clock blared, announcing the fourth night's arrival.

Waiting for the next night to get some answers from Nightmare Fredbear was going to be an eternity for Ryan, having in mind all the questions that swarmed around. He was a patient kid, but on certain occasions that patience just disappeared like it was never there - that was one of them. He was willing to comprehend everything, to make things better. He needed to understand the Nightmares' motives before building a friendship, and the golden bear was his only chance.

There was a soft drizzle outside, and Plushtrap had grown curious as soon as the first drops fell down. It really loved rain after having discovered what it was. It stood motionless in front of the large window, looking at the raindrops pounding against the glass, while Ryan walked in circles around the room with nothing else to do. The flashlight was left alone, off, and everything was quite peaceful as there were no growls from the Nightmare outside and the Fredlets seemed to be resting, since they hadn't come from under the bed after some time.

Since there was absolutely nothing to do, Ryan had thought about paying another visit to the Nightmares, but even though he wanted to, he felt even more tired by just imagining the scene. With such a calm atmosphere, walking out of the bedroom and trying to talk to the animatronics wasn't something on the to-do list, for the moment. It was a priority, however, to keep contact with the Nightmares during the next nights. Ryan couldn't stay too much time without showing himself to the withered robots, they needed regular contact and it was likely that only two nights without seeing glimpse of the kid would make them forget what they've been through.

He stopped his aimless wander. He had to go see the Nightmares again, but he had to make sure what to do once being face to face with them. Asking wasn't going to drive him anywhere, and there wasn't much for him to ask other than the evaded question; the why of their violent attitude. Talking about anything else wasn't much of an option, Ryan didn't even know how much speech the Nightmares could actually understand. He had learnt through Plushtrap that not every word was fully understood, such as 'rain' for example, but the plushie seemed to understand words pretty fluently. The Nightmares could just as well, and even have knowledge of more words. But there were more reasons of why talking was kicked out of the options - Ryan and the Nightmares were at a fragile stalemate. The kid needed to be patient around the animatronics, they wouldn't just be his friends with a few courageous words. Lots of trust was needed, Ryan had to show the Nightmares that he trusted them, and eventually they'd trust him. But it was expected that the _true_ friendship would take a long time to arrive at his hands.

It'd be worth it, anywise.

Plushtrap's left ear shifted slowly as it stopped hearing Ryan's footsteps. It looked at him, seeing how he had ceased walking and appeared to be deep in thought. It twitched its nose curiously before reuniting with its pondering friend. "I'm gonna try to gain some more trust from them," Ryan told the stuffed bunny when he heard its thumping footsteps get close. There was an accepting croon from Plushtrap as the kid grabbed the flashlight to light the way. Just as he turned it on, the glow pointing at the bed, a raucous bellow shattered the peace and caused the two to dart their sight towards the doors. An angered squawk followed, and ferocious snarls soon started to defeat the silence and mute the sound of the drizzle outside. Ryan and Plushtrap exchanged a worried glance. The plushie seemed oddly startled at the noises, and without thinking twice it dashed out of the right door, Ryan immediately following.

Those noises had to belong to Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica, and they sounded utterly angry. There was a great relief at knowing that those shrill growls didn't mean an impending attack from the Nightmares; they stayed at the end of the halls. That could mean only one thing.

Plushtrap made a sharp stop just before reaching the small room. Both him and Ryan peeked around the corner, the flashlight was cautiously moved down only to have some light, not bright enough to bring the animatronics' attention towards them. The Nightmares were facing each other, jaws partially open in a threatening manner. It was indubitable, they were having a fight, just like Nightmare Freddy and Nightmare. They roared, trying to get the other to back down. Ryan watched the scene with wide eyes. Those two were always together with no problems whatsoever, what had gotten into them?

Nightmare Chica quavered deeply, Nightmare Bonnie rumbling in response. As it watched, Plushtrap trilled quietly, sporting an almost sad expression on its eyes. It looked at Ryan with that expectant face, and the kid knew what it was thinking. It wanted him to break apart the Nightmares.

If Plushtrap really thought Ryan was going to get in between two giant, dangerous, angry, brawling animatronics to try and calm them down, it was completely out of its mind. Maybe when pigs fled he'd do it.

Both retreated, Ryan bitterly whispering, "Are you crazy? There's _no_ way I'm going to go there!" Plushtrap gave an angry yet silent warble, but the kid wasn't going to interfere on that fight. "I said no!" he yelled, a bit louder. "Why don't you go then?" Plushtrap frowned at the sneer. Ryan glared at him with crossed arms, awaiting an answer. A deep, hoarse bellow got their attention. They peeked around the corner again.

Nightmare Chica took a step forth as she snapped her jaws. The rabbit jerked back a bit, but didn't move from where he was and uttered a warning grumble. The seemingly calmer chicken snorted sternly before walking past Nightmare Bonnie, who had his narrowed eyes fixed on her as she walked by. She turned and vanished out of sight, almost as if she went through the wall, and Ryan's confusion grew stronger. He always had in mind how suspiciously quick the Nightmares got out of sight when they retreated back to the darkness, always on the same spot. Was there a doorway he didn't know existed? He had to find out.

Nightmare Bonnie kept a glare on the direction Nightmare Chica took before exhaling a prolonged huff as he looked at front. It was relieving that the fight was only a little riot, nothing to worry about. Ryan found it safer to reveal himself. He was eager to know if there truly was a doorway there. He had walked with the flashlight past there while looking for Plushtrap, just before the batteries died. He could've missed it, or there was just nothing there. The only way to find out was to explore by himself. He carefully pointed the light at the obscure spot, the darkness was so strong he could barely make out a figure in the wall. It had to be. There truly was a doorway there that had escaped his sight. Plushtrap tilted its head, turned out Ryan wasn't the only one who didn't know about the house being bigger than what it was thought to be.

The light was quick to be spotted by Nightmare Bonnie's glowing eyes. It glowered at Ryan with a hardly-audible growl, but the boy knew he wasn't being aggressive towards him. He was only shaken by the little brawl. "I just want to walk through." Ryan told him with a slight firm tone. The rabbit was still looking at his direction, but he wasn't looking precisely at him. He was looking at Plushtrap, and not in a very friendly manner. The plushie, standing behind its friend, was also looking at the larger animatronic, but more frightened than angry. He snorted before looking away, practically ignoring the two as they started walking towards the doorway. Ryan was surprised at Nightmare Bonnie's behavior, he didn't even direct him a fierce glare, or growl loudly.

That was a very, very good signal.

The doorway was similar to the ones in Plushtrap's hallway, if not identical. When Ryan entered, there was complete surprise on his face. The room was nowhere close to small; it was actually large. It looked strikingly similar to the salon in Ryan's real house, but it lacked many of the things that were there. It was a basically empty room with only a lamp hanging off from the ceiling and a sofa. The flashlight revealed another doorway leading somewhere else. It was quite amazing to find out how big the house actually was, and the discovery cheered Ryan. For when he befriended the animatronics, he'd have more space to be around with them, and more places to hide from Nightmare in case it couldn't be soothed like the rest.

Curiosity pushing him, the kid walked towards the other doorway, Plushtrap following closely as it inspected the new room. They both heard clanging noises coming from there, and assumed it was Nightmare Chica since she had entered the room earlier. Ryan guessed it would be some sort of kitchen what awaited in the other room, as he heard those very same noises some nights, when the chicken was nowhere to be seen. The soft clanging stopped when the kid and Plushtrap were just some feet away from the doorway, causing them to stop, expectantly. Nightmare Chica had probably seen the white light, thus making her actions come to a halt. There was a brief, sharp click afterwards, as if two pieces of metal had come in contact.


	14. Played

Slow footsteps started approaching the doorway.

Ryan instinctively backed away and pulled the light down, knowing that Nightmare Chica was coming. Plushtrap soon got behind him as it waited – it sure wasn't well-welcomed by the Nightmares, they didn't like each other's company on the slightest, and Ryan wondered if he could do something about it. He did not want Plushtrap to get hurt for wandering too close to the animatronics, and that'd probably be soon counted as yet another must-do thing.

The chicken's shadow was seen on the floor with the steps increasing. Nightmare Chica soon made her appearance as Ryan backed some more when her eye looked at him directly. She seemed to have something in her beak, object that after a good glance came to be a bent and dented fork. It confirmed that the other room was indeed a kitchen, and Nightmare Chica had probably gone there looking for a chew toy. She maintained a glare, more curious than anything, with the kid, while Plushtrap remained uselessly hidden behind him–its ears completely gave away its position, but it wasn't like it had a chance to not be spotted. Ryan couldn't stop looking at the fork, nearly completely broken, mauled and contorted to the point of almost looking like a rigid, wrinkled straw.

Nightmare Chica tucked the utensil in between her teeth, resulting in another sharp click to be heard as her teeth scantily sank into the metal, and walked away with a huff. Ryan's blue gaze followed her as she disappeared around the corner of the doorway, hearing Nightmare Bonnie growl at her as she walked by.

The young boy didn't spend too much time looking at the entrance of the salon, and inquisitively inspected what would be the kitchen. Since the other room was almost empty, that one wasn't going to be much more of a difference. It was fairly small, with only two worktops sitting alone in the dark left corner and several knocked over utensils accompanied by an old-looking broom, cleanly snapped in half, lying on the middle of the room. Either Nightmare Chica was mad at Nightmare Bonnie and decided to take her anger out on the scattered objects, or she just liked disarraying stuff. Or both.

Plushtrap peeked in, observing the mess that had been made. The torn broom was what caught its attention, as its eyes widened when it saw it. It stared at the two separated parts for a few moments before dashing towards the broken object, hopping over an upside-down pan standing on its way. Once it was right in front of the lone broomstick, Plushtrap halted by stepping on the split end, sending the stick right into its gaping jaw. Nightmare Chica wasn't the only one who was looking for a chew toy, apparently. The plushie was happily gnawing the broken broomstick like a dog playing with a bone–it was definitely something to smile at. Ryan rolled his eyes innocently as he watched the rather cute scene, Plushtrap was literally his cure to any sad or fearful feeling that roamed around him.

* * *

Back in the bedroom, the playful bunny still carried the broomstick with it. It had been a bothersome return, the stick had been rubbing against the carpet all the way back and hearing that little nuisance was really annoying, plus with the extra chewing noises.

Something that cheered Ryan was how the Nightmares hadn't paid him much attention as he went back to the bedroom, not even a single growl, but a few glares were shot at him and Plushtrap. That could be a signal about being able to pace around the house safely, however the kid wasn't going to trust everything yet. Nightmare Foxy wasn't as 'peaceful' as the other two were, but Ryan's words seemed to have influenced him into not being as aggressive as he had always been.

One of the Fredlets hopped onto the bed, followed by another one, just as Ryan left the flashlight there. None of the two were the first the kid had befriended, but it didn't matter. All of them seemed to like him the same way. Their attention was fully fixed on Plushtrap as it continued to gnaw the snapped broomstick, there was no way of knowing if they were jealous or just curious. One of the little bears gave a low screech as it hopped down the bed, inspecting closely the distracted plushie. Ryan looked at the small teeth marks that were marked on the middle of the wooden stick, helping him notice how basically useless and reduced to nothing they were compared to the Nightmares' literal daggers poking out of their jaws.

Nightmare Chica had managed to snap that broom in half with one or two bites while Plushtrap had been chewing on it for several minutes and it barely did anything to it. It actually helped him calculate how strong the Nightmares' teeth were. Ryan knew perfectly well that Plushtrap's teeth, despite being somewhat conical, actually hurt. He still had some scars from its bites. If it scarcely left tiny teeth marks on wood, while just a soft bite from one of the tattered animatronics could tear it in half with ease (not to mention the completely mutilated fork Nightmare Chica was carrying), Ryan was sure those teeth could crush anything. Including him.

Plushtrap looked at the Fredlet that stood some feet away from it, the broomstick still on its mouth. The other one soon joined, they almost looked like pets begging for food. The golden bunny let the bitten broomstick slide down its jaw gently, it bouncing slightly once having made contact with the floor. The Fredlets didn't really want anything with the broomstick, proven as their pinprick eyes were still looking at Plushtrap innocently. Instead of wanting it to share the 'toy', they wanted to play with it.

And that was something Plushtrap was not going to refuse.

On the span of a few seconds, the three troublemakers were already running all over the bedroom chasing each other, occasionally exiting and entering but without going all the way down the halls. Ryan looked at them dash from the left door, to the right, then back to the left, then back to the right, and when his sight wandered through the middle of the room, surprise took over. He stopped focusing on the noisy plushies to make sure he wasn't going blind; the broomstick was gone. Just as if it had never been there. The kid had been watching the racing creatures all the while, and neither Plushtrap nor the Fredlets had taken the bitten stick.

There were times in which Ryan would love to have an explanation for the mysterious things that kept happening there. Disappearing props, it could be considered as something ridiculous to pay attention to, but it was quite hunting as well. Ryan always hated when things disappeared out of his sight, and even though he knew perfectly he was in a twisted dream, he'd like to know why things disappeared.

A dull, small growl made him move his blue gaze to face the bed, where the third Fredlet stood, next to the flashlight, watching its partners and Plushtrap playing around. As the trio ran past it, it joined the game and soon enough, Ryan was lacking any attention. He strolled towards the bed, sitting on the edge as always and watching the plushies toy around happily.

As he watched, there was something that made him think deeply about the Nightmares being easily able to completely change. Plushtrap was mysterious, grumpy and kind of a loner when it and Ryan first met. And after some time, it had turned into an extroverted bundle of love and cuddles that wouldn't hide from anyone or anything, only if that scared it, and all that thanks to some company and affection. Why couldn't the animatronics go from being 'accidental' killers to that same bundle of love and cuddles? The only difference to be found between them and Plushtrap was that they needed more respect than affection.

The Fredlets, by the other hand, were some kind of exception. Ryan never did anything to gain their trust, it was a curious one who decided to go and start a friendship.

He checked the time, and almost sprang up from the bed–he didn't know if it was out of joy, nervousness or surprise. It was 5 AM already, and Nightmare Fredbear would soon make an appearance. Ryan just pulled a relieved smile and waited the slow minutes, observing the playful plushies, who didn't look anywhere close to ceasing their game.

* * *

6 AM was announced not long after, and the Fredlets stopped running around right after entering through the left door. Plushtrap came behind them, also stopping as it heard the blaring clock with a small ear movement. The Fredlets instantly went from being gleeful to look afraid. It was probably because they knew what night it was, their respect towards Nightmare Fredbear probably obliged them to stay away. Plushtrap looked at them in confusion, and they didn't think twice before whirling around and dashing under the bed with a few worried trills. The bunny understood why they were so nervous, but it disappointed it how time fled so fast. It and the Fredlets got along swimmingly, and knowing that they wouldn't return until the golden bear was gone arrived to hurt Plushtrap.

A few seconds after 12 AM was painted on the alarm clock, the heavy footsteps already echoed around. There was no other noise, aside from the soft wind outside. Ryan noticed how Nightmare Fredbear didn't walk from left to right frantically anymore, since he had no reasons to. It was an immense relief not having to worry about something as fast and sly as that bear. The mightily toothed snout peeked out of the right door, and Plushtrap uttered a happy-sounding croon. It didn't seem to have the same respect towards Nightmare Fredbear that all the other Nightmares shared, their relationship seemed to be a more of a friendly one. Why wouldn't it, Plushtrap was basically the dream's representation of SpringBonnie, also known as Fredbear's best friend. It would be normal if those two acted the same there.

"Hello, Ryan." Nightmare Fredbear greeted gently.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for favoriting/following this story, I really didn't think of it becoming so popular :)**

 **What I wanted to tell you is that school already started for me, and this means I probably will not be as active updating as I was before (but honestly, I love this story just as much as you all do, and I always try to have constant updates.) Now out of vacation, the time I spend on the computer is mostly for homework, thing that decreases my time for writing, but I'll try my best.**

 **See you in the next chapter! ;)**


	15. Showed

Ryan didn't even wonder how the animatronic knew his name.

There were too many things storming through his mind at that moment. He had to know how to tell the events that took place delicately, there was no way of knowing if Nightmare Fredbear would take it excellently well or go mad, or simply be intrigued about it all.

There was a soft, gentle chitter from Plushtrap as it stopped walking around in circles with its gaze fixed on the floor; it was flabbergasted by its new toy being completely gone out of sight. Not even a second later, it continued its useless search for the broomstick. Standing in front of the door, Nightmare Fredbear tilted his head. He wondered what Plushtrap was so eager to find, and Ryan seemed lost in the matter until he remembered that the stick mysteriously disappeared.

The kid gave a glance at the bed, he knew an example would be a good way to show Nightmare Fredbear how caring the animatronics could be, but there was nervousness spreading around when he found the bed empty. It was definite, the Fredlets were not going to show their toothy faces until the golden bear left or straight away told them to come out – that was unlikely to happen.

As Plushtrap passed by in front of him, Ryan just noticed how many other questions wanted to get a proper answer. It suddenly wasn't just the Nightmares' innocence what worried him, he needed to know several things that may help him in the near future. There was the question of why the animatronics didn't want to kill, but that one was going to be left for later, when Ryan proved that the Nightmares could be friendly. Another thing that sought for an answer was who or what was Nightmare, and the kid had a feeling that only Nightmare Fredbear knew.

Having sure what to ask and what to not ask, Ryan finally said, "Now that you're here, I'd like to… know a few things." Nightmare Fredbear's tattered ears slowly moved up. "If that's okay with you, of course," was quickly added nervously. Plushtrap stopped its wander to look at the scene, it was honestly intrigued by any of the questions that had to escape.

"It always depends on what you have to ask." the large bear spoke gently, stepping into the room. Even if Ryan had gained some trust towards him, he still felt eerily unnerved when standing so close to Nightmare Fredbear. But who wouldn't? Dangerous or not, he was still with a massive animatronic with exaggeratedly long claws, much deadlier than the others', and literal daggers that filled his crooked jaw and stomach. Not to mention those glaring red eyes that, despite carrying protection and sorrow, still had the nightmare-malice thrown into them.

Ryan turned to look at the flashlight, thinking how to ask the question, while Plushtrap sat down limply next to the bed, knowing that night wasn't going to be really active. "Well, if you could answer this…" He trailed off, looking back at Nightmare Fredbear. "Who is Nightmare?" The golden bear averted Ryan's blue gaze in thought. He slowly muttered, "I knew you would ask that question sooner or later. Since you have already done it," He looked at the kid. "an answer must be given to you."

Both Ryan and Plushtrap were all ears when Nightmare Fredbear started. "Nightmare was never meant to exist here, or anywhere. This dream, let's say, has a mind of its own." Ryan gave an intrigued frown. "It may be hard for you to understand, but it has always been this way. The dream controls what happens, and knows what we think. Ever since I was created, I refused to go after you, and that's why I was temporally forced to be like the others. I, however, managed to break free from that control, and that was when Nightmare came to life. The dream created him to do what I could not. He is all my greed and hostility put together."

"So he's like… your dark side?" the kid asked, his voice sounding fascinated.

"In other words, yes."

Now it made sense why those two were almost identical, and why Nightmare looked so dark, in all senses. That surely meant the shadow-cloaked animatronic was an exception when talking about friendship. According to Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmare had no happy or caring emotions; he was all pure, twisted, deadly malice.

It didn't take long for Ryan to speculate about his other question, the Nightmares not wanting to kill. Nightmare Fredbear said the dream controlled him to be murderous, could that mean the others went through the same? The puzzle started to make sense. That was the most plausible theory at the moment. "That kinda explains why they were less aggressive towards me…" he mused out loud as he profusely thought about it, when he realized he should have kept that for himself. The golden bear's eyes widened slightly, looking at the kid with what appeared to be a frown. A displeased frown. "'They'?" he repeated, a stern tone on his voice.

"I probably shouldn't have said it that way…" Ryan said rapidly, Plushtrap giving him a quite worried glance as it stood up.

"You won't happen to be talking about the Nightmares, right?" The kid flinched at the low yet concerned tone.

"Well, actually…" He almost struggled to finally say, "Yes." The bear was looking at him in a daunting way. "Lots of things happened, and… what matters is that I'm fine, after having confronted them by myself." Nightmare Fredbear seemed shocked.

"You left the bedroom, to go face to face with them?" He placed great emphasis on the word 'them'.

"Yeah," Ryan didn't even realize he started to sound nonchalant. "But as I said, I'm fine. I saw the… gentle side of the Nightmares, and I realized they don't want to harm anyone."

"That can't be." the bear said austerely, keeping a firm glare. "I know how they act, they don't have the capability to take themselves out of the dream's control. They are not like me, they don't have enough strength of will to do something like that."

"If they didn't," the kid reproached. "then I wouldn't be standing here, unharmed and not worried about them. You have to believe me, they don't even mind me walking around now."

Nightmare Fredbear didn't know what to believe. He knew better than anyone the Nightmares' behaviors, he knew perfectly well how they reacted to certain things, he even had an idea of what was going through their minds. What he couldn't realize was that he was seeing the Nightmares just the way Ryan saw them before meeting their true side.

Maybe he didn't know them as well as he thought.

Plushtrap chirped loudly to–successfully–grab their attention, looking at the bed. A confident half smirk sprayed across Ryan's face, he knew what the bunny was thinking, and it was admissible that the plushie had gotten a good idea even though that had already been roaming through his mind. "I can show you, right here, right now." he stated firmly. He looked back at Plushtrap, giving it a nod. It lightly trilled at the bed, hoping to get at least a single answer from any of the Fredlets. The smirk transformed into a smile when two pinprick white eyes lit up from under the bed. Nightmare Fredbear had a wary glare on the hidden Fredlet, and that was precisely what was making the plan impossible. The glowing irises vanished into the darkness, Ryan felt his heart sink in disappointment.

If he couldn't even trust those little ones, the procedure might turn harder than expected.

The bunny chittered at the bear in an irritated way. Ryan didn't know what it was telling him, but whatever it was seemed to have calmed his glare down, rather hesitantly. Plushtrap again tried to call for the small bear, which soon revealed its eyes again. Since Nightmare Fredbear wasn't directing it any commanding, fierce glower, it cautiously skittered from under the bed. Ryan kneeled close to its level, allowing it to curl next to him with a happy purr. He looked at Nightmare Fredbear smugly. Through those red eyes, he could see how shocked and surprised he was.

"How…" was all he could mumble.

"See? They can be just as sweet as Plushtrap." Said plushie uttered a happy croon. The kid arched his eyebrows expectantly. "Believe me now?" He found it funny how he, unintentionally, sounded like he was mocking him.

The golden bear took a while to answer, trying to place everything together, but what Ryan wanted to hear met his ears. "I can't say I don't, after witnessing this."

"The others aren't as cuddly as these guys are, but I'm sure they can be."


	16. Rivaled

Ryan was listening thoughtfully and attentively.

Nightmare Fredbear had been answering many of his questions and explaining him how that twisted nightmare he was in 'acted'. He had explained him how the Nightmares understood growls better than words, and how he was the only one able to speak. Nightmare Fredbear had said that Plushtrap could indeed learn to talk, but it would be a difficult task, and it could barely learn a few short words and make simple sentences with them. He wasn't so sure about the Nightmares though, and Ryan found it weird. If Plushtrap could learn to speak, why couldn't the others? Maybe the plushie was more capable of learning words, but the boy wasn't sure.

The bear had also explained him how the Nightmare side and animatronic side worked, and Ryan was impressed at the realization of having understood that before an explanation was given to him. Nightmare Fredbear was also impressed at the kid having awakened the gentle animatronic side of the Nightmares, what he thought was something impossible.

One of the things Ryan liked the most was the fact that the Nightmares were actually able to act like Plushtrap or the Fredlets, but it wasn't as easy as eating cake; tons of patience and interaction was needed for such feat. For now, he knew that he had to maintain the fragile balance between him and the Nightmares, still showing them respect. After several nights, he'd be able to trust all of them without worries. When a few weeks pass, he'd be able to act like a true friend towards them. And finally, they'd act as sweetly as they always did in real life. With all the steps complete, the nightmarish afterlife would transform into the desired dreamland that waited far away. Said like that, it sounded easy, but Ryan knew it was too good to be true – he couldn't mess up anything, he had to follow all the steps to perfection, he couldn't immediately act like the Nightmares were his friends during their stalemate. It was a delicate process, with only one chance of succeeding. One mistake, and everything would collapse.

"Will I be able to show you how they act the next night?" Ryan asked the golden bear who was standing near the right door, staring at the obscure window, pensive. Nightmare Fredbear calmly gave him a sideways glance. "I can try to be the whole night with them." Ryan insisted. The bear looked back at the window, slowly muttering, "You know I won't be there for the whole night."

"Why do you always have to appear at a certain time?" the kid inquired, letting a small frown be seen. Plushtrap walked to his side, the Fredlet behind it, as he continued, "It's not like something's going to happen because you stay here."

"There is an order here." Nightmare Fredbear said serenely, but there was some strictness flowing among his deep voice. "Each of us must be on a set place. We can't break this order."

Ryan's confused frown turned slightly annoyed. "Plushtrap broke the order then." He put an almost mocking tone in the word 'order'. "It's been here with me all the time while it should be on its hallway. And nothing happened." He sighed when Nightmare Fredbear gave no reply and kept his scarlet gaze fixed on the window. "It's because you never tried to do something you thought you couldn't, right?" Ryan asked, his voice soft and sincere. "It doesn't matter if you don't do what you're supposed to do." He pulled a smile, "my mother always told me that I shouldn't be afraid of failing, I should be afraid of not trying. And I had that in mind all the time."

Hidden beneath that nightmarish grin Nightmare Fredbear always carried, there was a mellow smile. It was an undeniable truth, Ryan was strikingly intelligent and sapient for his young age. The golden bear looked at him, his vibrant red eyes looking at his calm blue ones gently. "So…?" Ryan waited, a childishly expectant expression on his face.

"I suppose I have to try."

Several minutes after the sixth night's 1 AM appeared in the alarm clock, Ryan had wandered to the new room he had discovered, where he found Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica in the gloomy salon and the messy kitchen, respectively. Plushtrap was with him, just in case, while Nightmare Fredbear watched from the door, surrounded by darkness so the Nightmares wouldn't note his presence and feel forced to act differently. The flashlight was left on the couch, where the first Fredlet the kid had befriended stood. Nightmare Fredbear took note of how Nightmare Bonnie almost ignored Ryan as he walked in and left the flashlight, always away from his glowing eyes, down.

That night, Ryan decided to ascertain how many words the Nightmares could understand. For him, it was a crucial thing to do. When their bond strengthened, he'd need to know what they understood and what they did not, and if he started early as that, the more words he'd be able to teach their significance to the animatronics. "Do you understand what I'm saying now?" the kid asked Nightmare Bonnie, who made a short growl before slowly giving a single nod. "You do understand what the word 'talk' means, right?" As much as the bunny despised questions, he seemed to be passive about it. He uttered a slow grumble, Ryan got no indication as to whether the animatronic meant yes or no.

He understood the significance behind the word 'talk', but he probably wanted to know what kind of 'talking' he meant – for Nightmare Bonnie, growling meant talking. For Ryan, growling just meant growling, or in that case, a complete foreign language. "Talking is what I'm doing now. Do you understand that?" The bunny tilted his head slightly with a fast blink and a brief puff, and rattled lowly. Ryan assumed that meant yes. If Nightmare Bonnie knew what talking was, he was in the good way. Now it was up for the kid to find out how extensive his vocabulary was. Nightmare Fredbear meanwhile watched thoroughly, just as Plushtrap and the Fredlets did. They'd be playing if the situation wasn't so frail, and the desire to do it was overwhelming, but they contained it.

Ryan thought a little before asking, "Do you know what a friend is?" He highlighted 'friend' to make sure Nightmare Bonnie understood that was the word he was supposed to know the meaning of. And eerily enough, he gave a snort with narrowed eyes. Ryan assumed it was a no. He tried to find an explanation, and he needed to do it in a simple way so Nightmare Bonnie understood. "A friend is…" he trailed off, trying to find the right words. "is someone who cares about you and is always by your side." Plushtrap nuzzled his arm and stood next to him, giving out the perfect example. "See? This is how friends act."

Nightmare Bonnie tilted his head again, analyzing the scene before his eyes. He tried to put the words and the visual example together to take out the correct meaning, and he seemed to have a clear idea. There wasn't any cue to confirm that he understood perfectly, however, other than his eyes slightly widening. "Do you think you have friends?" Ryan asked lowly, not wanting to irritate the animatronic. He was thoughtful, giving no reply and averting his gaze. Ryan thought of a better way of saying it, and rectified, "Is Chica your friend?"

The musing bunny suddenly looked at the kid harshly with a snarl as soon as he heard the chicken's name. Explanations aside, they didn't consider each other friends. Ryan took a shaky step back, Plushtrap shifting away. "Alright, alright, you don't like each other." He was rather impressed at himself for keeping the fear in so easily. In any other occasion, he would've cowered away. Nightmare Bonnie stopped growling, but not fully. At least that proved that the Nightmares knew each other's names, which was a good thing. Nightmare Fredbear had his scarlet eyes fixed on him, prepared if something bad happened.

The kid glanced at Nightmare Bonnie's tattered body for a moment, soon realizing something. Some of the tatters on his and Nightmare Chica's bodies didn't seem to be part of their natural appearance. Most of them looked like claw marks, akin to the the ones drawn in the walls. Not resembling claw marks, _being_ claw marks. Clearly seen, and clean. And something told Ryan that Nightmare Bonnie's bent ear and Nightmare Chica's missing eye hadn't always been there.

Those two fought more than once.

They weren't team-workers or partners of any sort, they were rivals.

That brawl they had the other night wasn't just some kind of accident, it happened many times before, and they've had much worse fights. Ryan decided to leave it forgotten despite his curiosity, since Nightmare Bonnie clearly didn't like to talk about that. The bunny turned away from him, facing the dark door. That action, plus his constant growling, meant one single thing: 'go away.' Ryan heaved a sigh, he truly wanted to go deeper into the problem, but there was a barrier preventing him from doing so. The Nightmares had limits he didn't want to cross under any circumstance.

A faint bellow caught everyone's attention, but the Fredlet was the most attentive. No doubt, it was Nightmare Freddy calling for his missing counterpart. The smaller bear yelled a screech as a return and headed back to the bedroom, not before giving Ryan and Plushtrap a goodbye glance. The plushie kept its beady eyes on the obscure door, hearing the frantic steps of the racing Fredlets and hissing lightly.

The rattling in the kitchen stopped, and Nightmare Chica came out soon after. She and Nightmare Bonnie exchanged a menacing growl before the chicken panned her attention to the kid. Ryan felt better; Nightmare Chica was calmer than Nightmare Bonnie, giving him more things to ask and more time to do so. She would listen, as long as the question didn't concern certain bunny of course.


	17. Battled

Nightmare Chica was looking at the kid with an oddly curious gaze.

Ryan wondered if her naturally sweet side, being softer than the others, was actually overtaking the Nightmare side already. It would be too much of an abrupt and sudden change, but all the boy could do was wait and watch how she reacted.

He noticed her freaky cupcake was gone, she probably left in the kitchen. She had to grow tired of carrying it all over sooner or later. Ryan didn't feel like asking her if she understood what he was saying was necessary; if Nightmare Bonnie knew it, she would as well.

"You like being in that kitchen, don't you?" he asked her, a little smile on his face. Maybe he was getting too confident, but the chicken didn't look precisely hostile that moment. In fact, she seemed pretty calm. Nightmare Chica looked at the doorway that led to the kitchen, giving a slight head tilt before looking back at Ryan. She trilled lowly, answering the question affirmatively. The kid had in mind how she understood what the kitchen was.

He could barely notice how her eye seemed to be panning between him and Nightmare Bonnie erratically, as if she felt uncomfortable with the bunny around. She was able to stand his presence, shown by the other times Ryan found them standing together, but she wasn't so tolerating towards the fellow Nightmare on that occasion. It was more than likely that their little brawl got them at the edge of snapping.

A slow, soft, scarcely audible tapping noise was starting to be heard. Ryan never heard that kind of noise before, and his curiosity got the best of him. His blue gaze came across the spot where the tapping was coming from, which was Nightmare Bonnie. His stripped-off hand was pressed close to his torn midsection, one of his claws tapping against it deep in thought. The bunny seemed to have zoned out, immersed on his thoughts. There was a whispering grumble coming out of him from time to time.

Ryan was almost entranced on the action. It showed that the Nightmares were capable of pondering about situations, trying to find out the meaning and putting sense into it. That pulled their intelligence to a level the kid didn't know existed within them, and it impressed him. Nightmare Chica was also looking at him, her eye seemed to be narrowed as she watched and huffed indifferently.

She had caught glimpse of Plushtrap, also looking curiously at Nightmare Bonnie. Its expression was inquisitive and questioning until it noticed how bitterly the chicken was looking at it. Pretending it hadn't seen her traitorous gaze fixed on it was useless, Plushtrap felt nervous with that eye staring directly at it with malice. Ryan was quick to notice it, and knew he had to take action before something no one desired happened.

"Why are you looking at it like that?" he asked, Plushtrap getting behind him, but not trying to hide – it knew it couldn't. Nightmare Chica snorted spitefully, and whatever she said meant that there was something she didn't like about the plushie. Ryan could make out the idea of the problem. The Nightmares just had to dislike Plushtrap for being different, for not belonging with them. There couldn't be any other reason. "Is it because it's not like you?" The chicken gave an almost positive caw at that.

Nightmare Fredbear observed how the kid drove the situation. He had to admit it, he was good at solving problems and finding solutions. His fear had slipped away, and the Nightmares actually answered to his questions without much hesitation. Trust was starting to build up successfully.

Plushtrap chittered lightly at Nightmare Chica's commentary. She trilled at it, and the plushie seemed both concerned and angered at whatever she said. Ryan wanted to know what they were talking about, but that was probably something impossible.

He knew that he had to avoid Plushtrap when talking to the Nightmares, he'd find a solution for that later. Not talking about what the animatronics disliked was also a sign of respect, it was better to follow it. He remembered that question with which he had irritated Nightmare Bonnie, the friend one. He had to know if the Nightmares held a friendly relationship with one another, excepting the bunny and the chicken.

"Do you have friends?"

Nightmare Chica appeared to think thoroughly about that question. Maybe the Nightmares didn't treat each other as friends, but rather as companions, or simply as fellow creatures living together and sharing (or having shared, in that case) a same objective. She just puffed as a response. Ryan thought it could mean an unsure answer.

He already knew how to recognize yes, no, and unsure. Yes was a relatively vibrant noise; no was an aggressive or dark sound; unsure was a snort. He liked his progress so far, at least he could understand a small yet important part of the Nightmares' growling language.

He had noticed how both Nightmare Chica and Nightmare Bonnie weren't on the mood of answering questions. They just seemed tired, or simply not wanting to do much. The kid understood that by the look on their faces. A bored expression and lower-sounding voices gave it out. "You don't want to keep on, do you?" Ryan expected the chicken giving no immediately reply, and instead looked at Nightmare Bonnie. She finally uttered a silent growl, the recognizable no.

Ryan was eager to reach the answers to his questions, but he had to give the Nightmares their time. He was patient, and knowing that the wait would be worth it brightened his hopes.

Nightmare Bonnie stopped his taping, and whispered a brief growl. He must've said something bad, because both Plushtrap and Nightmare Chica looked at him in unfriendly ways; Plushtrap seemed rather confused, but the chicken was almost shocked. She returned the growl, getting the bunny to face her with a hiss that beamed malice.

The situation was twisting in an undesired way.

Ryan wanted to stay calm, but the look on Plushtrap's face didn't let him. The plushie was concerned, whatever the Nightmares' growls meant wasn't anything good. The kid feared the worst. Were they… challenging each other?

It seemed like Nightmare Bonnie wanted to deliberately piss her off. Nightmare Chica made a warning squawk, but the rabbit returned a bubbling snarl that progressively turned into a defiant bellow. Nightmare Fredbear was anything but ignoring the two – it was a fact, they _were_ going to fight. But the bear didn't jump right into action. They were 'programmed' to act like that, what Ryan was witnessing was common in those two. But that didn't mean it was good in any way.

The golden plushie got behind Ryan, it was clear it didn't like fights. The kid backed away along with it, things were on their way to get ugly. The snarls and roars increased from challenging to wrathful. The boy hadn't seen a true fight between Nightmares yet, he had only seen the challenging part, and it was terrifying enough.

Nightmare Bonnie screamed a harsh bellow, his rival returning the menace with her own. With no previous warning, Nightmare Chica lunged, her jaw wide open to strike. The snarling rabbit was quick to dodge the attack, the heavily toothed jaw clamping shut at the air. Nightmare Bonnie took advantage of the missed attack to carry out his own, claws splayed to swipe. Nightmare Chica managed to step back just a second before the razor sharp claws came in contact with her, and instead carved into the wall.

The chicken hissed before letting out a prolonged caw. Nightmare Bonnie wrinkled his snout as he charged, Nightmare Chica doing the same. Little did the bunny know, that was actually what his opponent wanted. The chicken opened her jaw seconds before the two collided, and clamped it shut on Nightmare Bonnie's bent ear. He let out a pained yowl as the chicken forced him back. Her hand caught a hold of his snout, making sure he wouldn't bite her to break free.

Ryan watched wide-eyed, Plushtrap close to him for comfort. The Nightmares were ferocious, cunning fighters, no one would deny that. As he stared at the battle in front of his eyes, he couldn't help but think about what could've happened to him if Nightmare Fredbear hadn't come to his rescue when all the animatronics congregated to kill him. They showed all of their viciousness through attacks.

While Nightmare Chica won in jaw strength, Nightmare Bonnie had bulkiness on his side. With a heavy growl, he managed to turn tides. He started walking forward with wrath written on each of his steps. Nightmare Chica wouldn't let go no matter what, and the rabbit took that as an opportunity. Anger accumulating, he started gaining speed and with a howling snarl, he wiggled and threw the persistent chicken against the wall. Harshly.

Nightmare Chica shook her head to recover from the impact before glowering at her rival. Nightmare Bonnie's ear hung even more loosely than before, and it was clear it made him rage. The two were about to pounce again when a shrill, deep roar forced them into silence.

Ryan and Plushtrap winced at the booming bellow, which unsurprisingly belonged to Nightmare Fredbear. That had been enough; the fight had to stop. The bear was responsible for the animatronics' doings. If he didn't come, they'd fight until defeat. They were a family for him, and he had to keep them safe. He wouldn't lose any of them.

The bickering animatronics took a step back as they met with Nightmare Fredbear's blazing orbs staring furiously and directly at them, making his order clear. He snorted to make it even clearer if possible, and there was no contradiction given. Nightmare Chica reluctantly turned around and slowly walked back to the kitchen. She was hobbling from her left leg, it probably had been damaged after she collided with the hall.

Nightmare Bonnie averted his gaze respectfully, uttering a low grumble. The bear stepped away from the door, growling constantly. The bunny knew what he wanted and limped out of the salon, always looking down, disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I just wanted to clear a little thing up, concerning the dream/afterlife thing. The story is indeed set in an afterworld, but it can be represented or seen as a nightmare. This is why I call it both.**

 **As was mentioned in other chapters, Ryan is dead, and is seeing his world as a dream. This is actually quite of a main point in the story, and it will be further explained in later chapters, so don't worry.**


	18. Watched

Ryan couldn't speak a word. He was too shaken.

The fight had been terrifying, and the kid was actually worried about the Nightmares. That brawl had probably gotten their calm thoughts away. They were hurt in all ways, and as simple as it looked like, it would stop the forming of trust for a while. Ryan didn't need any explanations to know that it was better to leave those two their time, he'd try again once they calmed down. He had to somehow stop their rivalry. If they continued fighting, he'd never be able to befriend them unless it was temporarily.

"I should have told you how they acted." Nightmare Fredbear said lowly, the kid looking at him with an astonished face. "They tend to end in a fight whenever they are together in the same place. They have always been like this."

Ryan looked at the floor, wondering what he could do. There had to be a solution, he just knew it. Even though Nightmare Bonnie's and Nightmare Chica's rivalry was something personal, there still had to be a way to solve it. There had to be a reason of their hatred towards each other. It was a complicated situation, and Ryan was certainly too shaken to think of something. He already had many things left to be solved later, but he had to push that matter aside as well. Some things couldn't just be solved like that.

He sighed. He really wanted to help the Nightmares, maybe that'd help him form a bond faster. But he felt like the help had to be greater, getting those two to cease their conflict was something hard and complex that needed some investigation before it was worked on. The kid would find a way to help them, he would, but not now.

"If only I could understand what they're saying…" Ryan muttered, crossing his arms. He only understood simple answers, there was no way a rivalry could be explained perfectly through yes and no.

And just like that, he realized it.

His eyes widened at the brilliant idea that had emerged, and he hated himself for not having thought about it earlier. He looked at Nightmare Fredbear, his eyes twinkling with radiant hope. "You understand both words and growls, right?" The bear didn't know what he was getting at, but he replied with a slow, "Yes." Ryan was burning with joy at the answer. "So then, you can be like a translator!" Nightmare Fredbear frowned while Plushtrap looked at the gleeful boy with intrigue. "You can help me understand what they're saying, maybe I can solve their problems!"

The golden bear had to admit it, it was a brilliant idea indeed. The most important factor to solve a problem was communication, and it was all Ryan lacked. If he couldn't comprehend the Nightmares' growls, he'd never be completely sure of what they truly meant. He could always guess, but guesses weren't always right. Plushtrap trilled, apparently happily, at the idea, and Ryan took it as an example. "What did it say now?"

Nightmare Fredbear glanced at Plushtrap before replying, "He said he likes your idea." Ryan was content at knowing Plushtrap's opinion, but a frown filled his expression when the bear referred to it as he. "Is something wrong?" the bear asked, noticing how the kid was quite confused.

"It's nothing," he replied dryly, and he hesitated before finishing. Said aloud, it was rather embarrassing. It sounded much better on his mind. "I just didn't know what Plushtrap's gender was…" The plushie gave him a fairly hilarious look, his eyes forming a 'seriously?' face. Ryan had basically just called him a girl. "What?" the kid shrugged upon seeing the look he was getting. Plushtrap hissed an indignant chirp before looking away. Ryan moved his blue gaze towards Nightmare Fredbear, awaiting the translation. The bear seemed to be at the edge of a mocking chuckle as he answered, "He thinks you thought of him as a girl."

A snigger wanted to escape the kid's lips. While it was true that Plushtrap could hardly be a girl, it was a funny thought. Ryan knew he said he was unsure about the stuffed bunny's gender, but he only realized how weird Plushtrap being a girl could be after it was said with words.

The plushie still had his back turned on the kid. He took the not knowing his gender as an insult, and it brought more hilarity to the shtick he was mounting. When Plushtrap was around, Ryan doubted about him being the only child there. The bunny acted like a toddler. And the same went for the Fredlets.

"Hey, come on, everyone can make mistakes." he told the bunny sweetly, but there was a sneering tone hidden within his voice. "Oh great, now you've gotten mad." He knew exactly how to take the plushie out of that clearly staged anger. He pouted his lips mockingly as he continued, "Are you mad because I called you a girl? Is the little baby angry?" It was working, Plushtrap's black pupils were erratically glancing at him.

Only to think that he learnt that from his brother…

It showed how they were the exact opposite of each other. While his brother used sneering comments to hurt, Ryan used them to cheer up, and without going to an irritant point.

Plushtrap cawed at him as a signal of giving up, which took out the giggle the boy had been keeping in. There was no denying, they were soul friends, and nothing nor nobody would ever change that. Ryan really looked forward to befriend the Nightmares now. He knew there'd be a moment in which they'd act like the lovable bunny, and only knowing it was already amazing.

* * *

The following night, calmness ruled the house. Nightmare Fredbear had gone somewhere; Ryan didn't know where, he just knew he left. None of the other Nightmares made an appearance, and the outside noises were relatively quieter. Ryan was lying on the bed, the unlit flashlight and Freddy plush, with one of the Fredlets curled in front of it, next to him, as he looked at the ceiling peacefully. Plushtrap sat on the floor, leaning against the nightstand and enjoying the silence. The kid remembered how there were star-shaped stickers on the ceiling of his real bedroom, he always stared at them when he couldn't sleep. It was a pity they weren't there.

He liked watching the stars as much as he liked listening to the rain. In fact, he remembered how he always went to a hill near his house and stared at the starry night sky with his brother when he was younger. He had so many good memories. He couldn't understand why it all had to change so drastically.

Ryan didn't even want to stand up, or even move from where he was. He gave the alarm clock a slight peek, his eyes half-closed already. It was 1 AM. He had a feeling that night would be long, no one felt like doing anything. Not even Plushtrap. Ryan still couldn't get the not being able to sleep thing over with. It was weird. He wanted to sleep, but he just couldn't. He blinked slowly and heavily, but that was all he could to do rest. It was actually annoying, at least for him.

* * *

The next hours had been terribly boring. Ryan couldn't contain an impatient sigh every ten minutes. Plushtrap and the Fredlet were just as bored, or even more so. They hadn't moved from their spots in the whole night but they clearly wanted to do something. They lacked strength to do so, that was all. And so did Ryan.

It was 4 AM, since the night was coming to an end, the kid decided to finally accumulate some will to stand up and have a quick look at Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica. He wanted to know if they were alright. Plushtrap limply stood up, but the little bear wouldn't follow. Ryan didn't pick up the flashlight, he didn't think it was necessary.

He would have if he knew what night it was.

He had completely forgotten it, and exposed himself in the worst moment.

Everything was silent before, but as the two friends walked through the gloomy hall the silence was so intense it was haunting. It was like everything went quiet as if the ambiance itself was afraid of something. Of someone. There wasn't a single noise, not even the wind outside or the engine of a nonexistent car. Plushtrap started to have a bad feeling. Too bad, he had forgotten which night it was as well.

Ponderous footsteps were heard.

They both stopped harshly, looking behind. They were _those_ distinctive footsteps. "Fredbear? Is that… is that you?" Ryan muttered lowly. The tops of Plushtrap's ears lowered in fear as it shifted close to the kid. "If this is a joke it's not funny…" Even he knew that it couldn't be Nightmare Fredbear trying to scare him, but he needed comfort. Maybe at the end it came out being the bear, but that was one of the most unlikely things that could happen there.

The footsteps came closer as the two kept advancing through the corridor until arriving at the end. There was nothing to be seen among the darkness, and there were four eyes looking all around. Plushtrap could see better in the dark than Ryan, and he could swear there was nothing lurking there. "Guys…?" the kid mumbled, feeling his voice tremble. He did not like being watched, and he could just feel eyes planted on his back.

Two malicious scarlet eyes lit up behind him.

Ryan sensed the undesired presence towering above him, making him and Plushtrap freeze. The bunny's ear twitched lightly as it looked over his shoulder, carefully, hoping to see nothing there. It was dismaying that there _was_ something watching them.

A low growl started to increase as Ryan turned around, and had to look up to see the eyes glowering at him, piercing into him.

He could oversee the silhouette of teeth and claws.


	19. Thanked

The peace suddenly dropped to zero.

Ryan kept calling himself stupid. If there was something he could _not_ do there, was forget in which night he was. The fact that the animatronics weren't on the mood of killing anymore didn't mean that Nightmare was going to join the group. That thing couldn't and wouldn't be befriended. There wasn't a single drop of kindness on him, and there would never be. Nightmare was a killing machine and nothing else.

The kid wouldn't commit the same error he did the past seventh night, he couldn't just freeze on the spot. It was undeniable that the shadow-cloaked animatronic's blazing stare was paralyzing, even the bravest of humans would freeze when making contact with those hateful orbs, but Ryan had overcome the fear enough to get running.

He didn't think twice, he didn't hesitate, he just started running without looking back with Plushtrap by his side. They heard Nightmare garble with wrath way too close. Ryan had little seconds to think of something, and the only thing he could try was fool the animatronic; he took the direction towards Plushtrap's hallway, making Nightmare think he was going back to the bedroom. That way he'd have more time to think of something, or wait until Nightmare Fredbear came back from wherever he was.

The kid and the plushie hid in the closest right doorway, peeking around the corner to make sure Nightmare wasn't following them. They heard his thunderous, slow footsteps, his hissing growl. Ryan tried to silence his almost frantic breathing. There were two things that made that animatronic a large threat - his hearing and his sight. If he couldn't hear or see his victims, he would eventually give up.

But Nightmare wasn't one of those who stopped trying at the first sign of failure.

The animatronic, almost completely camouflaged in the flooding dark, looked into the bedroom. He could see perfectly well in the darkness, but there was nothing to be seen there, other than the flashlight and the resting Fredlet. The small bear's eyes shot open as it heard the unmistakable footsteps and the annoyed hissing, its head turning towards the source of the noise. Both animatronics exchanged a glance, Nightmare staring dreadfully at the Fredlet who looked back in complete terror. Only a small warning garble was needed to send it back with the slumbering Nightmare Freddy.

Nightmare turned away from the empty bedroom, trying to find audio cues. The silence there helped him, the only ones who could make any noise were Ryan and Plushtrap. The boy was holding in his breath, he knew the slightest of noises would give away their position. Even a tiny fly hovering around far away would be heard by Nightmare. The silence had never been so absolute, the only noise there for the animatronic to hear was his own breathing. Ryan was praying for him to go away, he couldn't stay like that forever.

Plushtrap appeared to start panicking, his eyes created a frightened grimace on his face, and there was the fear that he could let out any noise out of terror that would give away their position. Nightmare finally seemed to start leaving, and that was when Plushtrap let go a brief whimper.

Nightmare stopped, snapped his gaze towards the hallway with a snarl. He waited for a few moments, his pupils contracted slowly as he stared directly at the entrance of the hallway and growled. Ryan would've been raging at Plushtrap if the situation wasn't a live-or-die one. Not only his breathing had stopped not long ago, his heart almost seemed to as well when the footsteps started approaching. Not even knowing that help was hopefully in the way calmed him down. A crystalline tear strolled down his cheek. Few times had he been so terrified, he thought he'd never feel like that again.

The golden plushie nuzzled his arm, trying to get him to calm down. They both were equally frightened, and the mutual feeling wasn't helping solve the situation.

As soon as Nightmare's silhouette appeared in front of the hallway's entrance, the two friends hid back in the small room. What was behind the doorways wasn't anything surprising, they were just empty rooms that were only made for Plushtrap to hide. The shadow-cloaked animatronic's eyes wandered from left to right, trying to spot movement before attacking. Nightmare, despite having a burning desire to kill, was smart and calculating, much like Nightmare Fredbear, just in a deadlier way.

Plushtrap was close to Ryan as they both waited for whatever had to happen. The kid had gotten so far, and to think he could be about to die… And he felt even worse for dragging Plushtrap into his same fate. But they were the best friends. If they had to fall, they'd fall together.

Short after, Nightmare was already sure of where the two were hiding, that grin almost appeared to be wider. Ryan and Plushtrap knew he was way too close. All they could do was pray for whoever came to their rescue to hurry up. Nightmare was mere seconds away from carrying out an attack when a yellow splotch got in his way. When Ryan looked at the scene after hearing an angry snarl, the yellow splotch wasn't who he thought. Instead of Nightmare Fredbear, it was Nightmare Chica.

She uttered a prolonged warble, Nightmare returning a deep garble. He had been challenged once, he wouldn't take another action of such disrespect. Unlike Nightmare Freddy, the chicken wasn't unsure about fighting. That could only mean that she was protecting Ryan voluntarily, not following an order from her leader. She was still injured from her fight with Nightmare Bonnie, but that wasn't going to stop her. She was completely sure about what she was doing, and neither she nor Nightmare would back down.

Ryan knew he had to do something to stop them, though, and he had two good reasons. First, Nightmare Chica had just stood up for him, he had to return the favor. Second, the battle was a complete mismatch. Nightmare had too many things on his side; longer claws and teeth, camouflage, and size. He made Nightmare Chica look like a harmless puppy, but she still wouldn't back down. Nightmares never backed down from fights, unless Nightmare Fredbear commanded so.

Nightmare gave one last snort to get the rival to give up. He almost felt pity for the creature, being aware of his own strength. Nightmare Chica only snorted back and charged, rather slowly due to her still hurting leg. The barely-seen monster only rumbled, he didn't even move from the spot. The angered chicken was about to snap before she saw the gleaming claws rising up, forcing her to halt and back up, all abruptly, before the swipe could hit her. The bottom left side of her shredded bib took the strike instead. She stumbled back, growling, while Nightmare stared at her menacingly.

That thing was purely made to kill, and all of his weapons were filled with deathly accuracy. Nightmare wasn't black and translucent just for the sake of it, whoever wanted to attack him would need eagle sight to watch his next move.

Notwithstanding having one eye, Nightmare Chica had that eagle sight, though. She could see well in the darkness, otherwise she wouldn't have seen the swipe that would've put her out of the fight. Nightmare took a threatening step forth before roaring furiously, ending the bellow by clamping his jaws shut. The chicken cawed loudly before charging again. That time, she managed to dodge the predictable swipe without backing away. Once behind the animatronic, she unceremoniously tried to lunge, heavily toothed jaw wide open. Nightmare was fast as well however, maybe even faster than her, as he got out of the gaping jaws' way in an artless second. Nightmare Chica was temporally astounded at the great speed, giving Nightmare more than a perfect chance to counterattack. The chicken didn't have time to realize what his next move would be before the blood-tinted, dagger-like teeth sank into her right arm.

She bellowed in pain, but she couldn't even do an attempt to attack or try to move away as Nightmare tossed her abruptly, hitting the wall again. The only difference was that the crash was harsher than the last time. The side of her head bumped first, leaving her dazed as she fell on her side; her hobbling leg didn't let her stand up after the crash. Nightmare laughed at the pathetic fight, Nightmare Chica was no match for him no matter how willing she was to win.

The victorious animatronic was about to carry out the last attack when he felt a painful snap on his lower left arm. Nightmare rumbled, startled, and his surprise grew wider when he saw what had bitten him – none other than Plushtrap. He let go quickly, only wanting to catch Nightmare's attention. He growled at the plushie with terrible hostility, seconds before a shining white light blinded his eyes and made him back away with a bellow.

Ryan had taken the fight as an opportunity to go get the flashlight. With it, Nightmare couldn't do anything against him. The red eyed animatronic blinked a few times. Glowing lights disabled his powerful vision for a few moments, which was probably the greatest discovery of that night. When Nightmare gained his sight back, he was only met with two more wrathful eyes and a booming roar right in front of him. Nightmare Fredbear, alarmed by the hubbub, came as fast as he could, and right on time.

Nightmare didn't like accepting defeat, but it seemed like that was his only option. His much kinder version, Ryan and Plushtrap all glowered at him with scowling expressions. Nightmare Fredbear grumbled constantly, daring his darker side to try and attack again. Nightmare looked at the child, then back at the bear. He knew he'd have to fight against him to continue his murderous hunt. It wasn't worth it. Not for now. Even he knew when to leave things for later.

Nightmare snorted before storming past Nightmare Fredbear and the two friends, who slightly backed in response. The shadow-cloaked animatronic soon disappeared into the darkness, readying for the next round. Nightmare would never be fully defeated, he could only be driven away.

Once the threat was gone, the golden bear turned to look at Plushtrap and Ryan, asking, "Are both of you alright?" There was a simultaneous nod in response.

"We wouldn't if it wasn't for Chica tho…" Ryan said softly, his blue gaze flickering towards Nightmare Chica, who had already stood up. She crooned groggily, glancing at the threesome with confusion. She looked at the kid, huffing, and giving a gentle chitter afterwards. There was no need to translate that, Ryan knew perfectly well what it mean. She was thanking him. The boy smiled, letting her know that he understood. Seeing how there was nothing to worry about, Nightmare Fredbear directed her an approving look as she walked away, probably back to the kitchen.

"She saved us, so we returned the favor." Ryan muttered aloud, looking at the empty halls from which footsteps echoed around. Nightmare Fredbear was smiling at him.

"I am proud of you."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This is nothing really important, I was just… startled at the most recent reviews I got from the Guests….**

 **It's not like every day you get lots of reviews saying the exact same thing. Where did you guys get this "story" from? Is there something I didn't catch up with? Nevertheless, this fanfic is not going to go in the way you're mentioning. Hey, it's not rated M.**

 **I even had to delete a review from the Moderate Reviews thing. Trust me,** _ **no one**_ **wants to read what I read there. Thanks to this little "idea" the Guests had, I'm going to have nightmares myself.**

 ***sobs in a corner***


	20. Confused

The tension was splayed everywhere.

Even though there was nothing to worry about anymore, fear and caution were still floating all over the house. Ryan was in a mess of thoughts. Nightmare Chica had saved his life, and she wasn't even told to do so. It didn't have any logic. Nightmare Fredbear had reasons to save the kid, but the one-eyed chicken didn't at all.

Maybe she just accepted the friendship right away? Ryan feared he'd never know, but he had to figure out what was going on. That sudden change wasn't normal. He couldn't recall doing anything special enough to get Nightmare Chica on his side, a few questions weren't anything from outer space.

Ryan looked at the dreadful, silent hall. The outside noises could be heard again, albeit barely - it was a fact that literally everything feared Nightmare. And it wasn't surprising. Who wouldn't fear an unstoppable, cruel killing machine?

The kid remained silent for a few seconds before saying anything, thinking, wondering. "He won't give up, will he?" he finally mumbled, looking down and waiting the answer. Nightmare was indeed relentless. He'd kill or destroy anything that dared to stand on his way. Nightmare Fredbear looked at him, his scarlet eyes showing sadness and worry. His ears lowered, his eyes closed, as he seemed to sigh.

"No."

That was the answer Ryan had been expecting. It was such a strike of luck that the monster of the darkness wasn't around all the time, and only appeared for two hours on only two nights. Since Plushtrap, Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare Chica already broke the 'order' of appearing, it would be a matter of time until Nightmare did it as well. The kid just hoped he'd have all the animatronics as friends by then.

"There is no way to stop him." the golden bear continued, almost reading Ryan's thoughts. He only wanted peace, was it so hard? "He will return, over and over again. His cycle will never stop, not until he accomplishes his one and only purpose."

It was hard for the kid to accept such truth. It was hard for him to accept that there would always be a monstrous thing out there trying to kill him. He couldn't get that one thought out of his head however, the thought of the Nightmares teaming up once the trust was at its fullest. Ryan knew if they worked together, they'd be able to defeat Nightmare once and for all, and true peace would finally reign over the afterlife. He almost smiled at the thought, the only downside was that it'd require too much time.

Nightmare Fredbear's tattered ears slowly moved up as his gaze turned towards the end of the halls. The night hadn't ended, he knew his dark counterpart was still lurking. He was worried a second strike could be carried out. "He's still around." he informed Ryan. Judging by his expression, he was already aware of it, but still seemed startled at the confirmation. "I don't want him to attack again. You two must stay here until the night ends."

With that, he started to leave, but came to a halt when Ryan urgently said, "B-but where are you going?" Nightmare Fredbear looked over his shoulder, his eyes had a narrowed expression written on them. "I can't let Nightmare return." was all he gave as a reply, and walked off towards the shadows without saying anything else.

And really, none of the two friends was planning on leaving at all. The scare had been so huge they didn't feel like moving from there. It had to be 5 AM at least already, waiting for less than an hour wasn't so bad. "Well, looks like we're staying here." the boy told Plushtrap with a small shrug. He didn't mind staying on the hallway. He had his friend, he had the flashlight. What else did he need?

Suddenly, a low snort followed by a deep rumble was heard. Too close.

Ryan froze for a moment, the plushie's ears buzzing briefly, before they both looked at the four doorways. There was no movement, but the rumble was still heard. The flashlight wouldn't be used to look directly at the hallways – it was clear that the noise belonged to a Nightmare, and as long as no light was flashed at its eyes, everything would be alright. Instead, Ryan pointed the light downwards so he could at least see who was there. Plushtrap shifted close to his friend as the menacing growl rose, but he seemed angry. After all, there was an intruder on his zone, and the bunny wouldn't tolerate that.

The torn, metallic snout peeked out of the darkness of the close left doorway.

Nightmare Foxy.

Three steps and the fox was already clearly seen. His golden eyes highlighted among the darkness that still surrounded him. The deep growl still vibrated on his chest as he stared at the two.

Ryan could tell Nightmare Foxy wasn't in the mood of attacking. His ears were up, his mouth was fully closed, his stare wasn't threatening. He was rather curious, probably startled by the sound of the fight. The boy started to notice that black tear the fox had over his right eye. He wondered if it was all that was left of the eyepatch, or was a scar from a fight. It could easily be both, but Ryan had to be sure. Knowing if Nightmare Foxy also had a rivalry was certainly important, he had to cease all conflicts to truly get started.

Plushtrap gave a piping screech all of a sudden, the kid taking a step back in surprise. Nightmare Foxy only tilted his head with an attempt of a frown. The plushie was telling him to leave, telling him that he was in his zone, telling him that he was a trespasser. The fox didn't feel menaced by the warning however, and only increased his growl into a brief snarl that sent Plushtrap behind Ryan immediately.

No wonder why the Nightmares treated him like a weakling. He couldn't even stand up for his own space.

And while taking Nightmare's attention was a feat–an unnoticed one at that–, he still didn't show enough courage to get respect. Maybe, maybe that was why the Nightmares truly disliked him. Because he was weak and fearful, like Ryan had been. But since he wasn't a target, the animatronics only treated him as something inferior, and not as a prey. It was the best theory the kid had yet, and that was likely the reason.

Nightmare Foxy snorted and walked away back to the halls where he came from, leaving nothing but confusion as he left. He hadn't attacked. Was the befriending process speeding up? Ryan barely had contact with the fox and he already ignored him. Perhaps his words soothed him, or perhaps it was the fight. Nightmare Foxy had been there as Nightmare and Nightmare Chica battled, he had probably seen how Ryan helped the chicken. If that was the case, it may have taught him that the kid only wanted to show the Nightmares a better world, a better lifestyle.

Whatever the reason was, he'd find out. He had to.

Once the tattered fox was gone, Plushtrap chittered angrily, walking towards the X marked on the floor and slumping down tiredly. He let out a vibrating yawn (that sounded like a squawk more than anything) as Ryan sat next to him, leaving the flashlight on just in case.

He was content with his progress so far. He had gone from being horribly scared to being calm and feeling protected. Not only could he understand affirmations or negations in growling-language, he could also understand the expressions of the Nightmares. He knew that, soon enough, he wouldn't need Nightmare Fredbear as a translator anymore. It was possible to learn to communicate with the Nightmares without words, and it just made the kid overflow with happiness.

Maybe what he thought was going to be the worst time of his life could turn out to be his best.

After all, he had many of the things he didn't have while he was alive.

And between them were good friends and someone who deeply cared about him.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Short chapter this time, I probably shouldn't write at 2 in the morning…**

 **I'm just starting to think I could reply to reviews from now on. I love reviews, I really do, and seeing that I get tons each chapter makes me really happy ^^**

 **That's basically all I had to say, so see y'all next time!**


	21. Searched

Blue eyes flickered toward the obscure bedroom as the alarm clock blared and announced the last night of the eight-day week.

It was weird, but Ryan had to admit one thing that he never thought could think of; without the Nightmares active, everything was utterly boring and almost stressful. He was so used to constant attacks, it wasn't easy to suddenly feel unthreatened. The change was too big. Sometimes he even missed the old nights, but he always rejected those thoughts immediately.

Plushtrap circled the X and sat down limply. He had been doing that all the while. He had never felt bored, and now he hated that emotion. Plushtrap didn't want to be bored, he felt weird, he felt like there was something wrong. He really wanted, _needed_ to do something else other than standing up, circling a sticker, sitting down and repeating the cycle, over and over again.

The plush bunny stared at the floor for a moment before the tips of his ears perked up. An idea just came at him. Plushtrap twitched his nose in thought before looking at the chair, tilting his head as he did so. There was one thing he was eager to do. He had been too many time without playing. He had been too many time without being the Plushtrap he was meant to be. A toothy smile appeared.

The bunny had already made his decision. He sprang up, chirping loudly to catch Ryan's attention. He was sitting right next to the doorway that led to the corridor, the flashlight next to him as usually. He immediately looked up, intrigued at the happy-sounding chirp that had gotten him out of his thoughts. Plushtrap looked at him, sparkling joy was able to be spotted in his black eyes. He looked at the chair, then back at Ryan with an even wider smile that left his point clear as water.

The boy took some seconds to give any sort of answer. He knew how picky the plushie was, and how exaggeratedly angry he could get, but he really thought those habits would be gone. Plushtrap had gotten enough affection and understood the meaning of friendship almost swimmingly. He wouldn't attack Ryan just because of a little game.

Plus, the kid was pretty good at it.

Ryan showed a confident smile, and nodded. From all the things he could do, playing with his best friend was first on the list. And it would probably always be.

Plushtrap voiced a gleeful caw at the acceptance. He really missed playing with Ryan, and both of them liked it. Maybe it would change for the kid, but it would never change for the plushie. He was created to be dangerously playful after all.

But now, the 'dangerously' could be taken out.

Ryan couldn't recall any moment where he had been happier. Maybe long, long ago, when his life wasn't a ruin, but that would be soon forgotten. His memories would soon be replaced by everything he'd do in his new life, and having in mind how perfectly well everything was going, he was glad it was going to change. He was unable to find any reason as to why his past memories would come back to him.

And he never felt happier while having fun with Plushtrap. He only knew it as a risky game, but not even in a nightmare would the plushie hurt his friend. Not unless Ryan literally asked for it, and it was definitely not going to happen.

Each time the flashlight embraced the hall was like an explosion sending happiness flying. The game had changed for the better. Sometimes Plushtrap would just fool around, and if it wasn't him, it'd be Ryan. It was 2 AM, and none of them noticed they had been playing for 2 hours and a bit more. For them, only 10 or maybe 20 scarce minutes walked by. Ryan was winning by a lot, he had caught Plushtrap at least 7 times already. He wasn't counting; his joy wouldn't let him.

None of them seemed to get tired. The kid was at the edge of winning again, he was listening thoroughly for any audio cue that indicated the plushie was on the move. He heard muffled, slow footsteps right in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he pointed the unlit flashlight towards the dark hall, waited, and pressed the light.

Plushtrap let out a disappointed warble as he slumped on the X, directing his friend a hilariously mad glare. He blinked a few times, bright lights on his face weren't his favorite thing, but it was worth it to get rid of the hateful boredom he despised so much. He even forgot what it was.

"Is it just me, or you're getting bad at this?" Ryan giggled, leaving the flashlight aside while still on to not bother Plushtrap, who trilled with disbelief. The boy risked a glance at his bedroom behind him, he learnt from his mistakes. Nightmare would also be active that night, he had to take some precautions. He wasn't going to stay near the animatronics even if the idea was tempting. He couldn't put them in danger as well; if something happened to them, and the fault belonged to him, guilt would haunt him forever.

Maybe he could hide somewhere Nightmare would never think of searching through. They were only two hours, it wasn't like he had to hide through a whole night. Perhaps hiding in the salon was a good idea, or in the kitchen. The animatronic of the darkness probably doubted Ryan knew those places. Wherever he hid, he had to stay there.

"I wonder what time is it…" he mumbled. Plushtrap trilled, he also knew danger was coming, and they couldn't guard down. If they kept playing, time would creep on them, and before they could tell, they both would be dead.

3 AM was painted on the clock as Ryan entered his bedroom, the flashlight illuminating the whole place. Time was running, and he wasn't going to lose a single second. He turned towards the door to find shelter, but glanced at the bed one last time. The Fredlets had surely been given a good scare, because not even knowing their friends were there would make them come out.

Nightmare Freddy hadn't shown up in a while when Ryan thought about it. He wanted to know if something was wrong, but that wasn't the time. He'd figure it out the next night, everything would be much calmer.

Ryan and Plushtrap strolled down the hall. The flashlight was kept off, an encounter with Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica and possibly Nightmare Foxy was imminent. Indeed, the rabbit was near the parallel hall. He seemed upset, his head was fixed on the carpet, his footsteps thumped lowly as he walked a short pattern from left to right. A slight growl surrounded him.

The kid decided to not bother him. The fight had surely caused havoc when talking about emotions.

Nightmare Chica was in the salon, near the couch, the cupcake back in her hand as she stared at the wall in front of her. Her leg didn't seem to limp anymore, it was a possibility that the Nightmares healed by themselves with time. It sure looked like so, but it was better to not jump into conclusions. The chicken heard their footsteps as they walked by in direction towards the kitchen. Her only eye blinked as she snorted softly, followed by a calm trill. She was still grateful.

Plushtrap returned a croon. Nightmare Chica also seemed to be grateful towards the plushie despite her almost natural hate towards him. He had also saved her after all, and she had no reasons to threaten him anymore.

The two friends finally arrived at the kitchen. There wasn't track of Nightmare Fredbear or Nightmare Foxy along the way, which was eerie. It was noticeable how those two, along with Nightmare, always seemed to completely vanish when they weren't active. Ryan still thought there was another room, deeply hidden somewhere, in which the apparently missing animatronics went. Or maybe they appeared and disappeared whenever they pleased, but even for a dream that'd be too weird. Where else could they go anyways?

Leaving the wonders aside, Plushtrap and his friend had to wait until hearing the alarm clock coming to life. It was horrible to do nothing, standing idly in the darkness without even being able to make a noise, but it was either that or getting killed.

Ryan sat down. He would've sighed if he could. Nightmare Bonnie's footsteps ceased, and that along with the thunderous steps that took their place meant that Nightmare was already on the move. Where did he come from anyways? It was useless to ponder, but the boy wanted to know why some animatronics looked like they came out of the nothing and disappeared into thin air.

It was easy to tell that Nightmare had wandered towards either Plushtrap's hallway or the bedroom, failing to find anyone. A soothing idea came to Ryan's mind. Since Nightmare couldn't find him nor Plushtrap, he could think that one of the animatronics already made the kill, and thus he would give up. He didn't know if the dark bear was simple-minded enough to just arrive at that conclusion and stop, but he hoped he was.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **As I said on the last chapter, I'll reply to some reviews that certainly may need a lil' answer ^^**

 **Guest – Ah. What kind of 'thing'?**

 **SpaceWolf04 – Can't tell yet. (*cough* spoilers *cough*)**

 **MMiladinova – Better not be curious DX**


	22. Progressed

Time seemed to go slower and slower.

Only two hours, but they felt like a whole night for Ryan. Nightmare didn't seem to be giving up, he was created to kill and that was all he would do. Both the kid and the plushie were getting nervous. If the next night didn't arrive early, the lurking animatronic could find them anytime soon. He didn't appear to be aware of Ryan having discovered the 'new' rooms, maybe he didn't even know they existed - and it was likely since, as far as the kid knew, Nightmare only lurked the halls and the bedroom and wouldn't waste his slim time travelling to unnecessary places.

The urge to do something was crushing. Ryan nor Plushtrap could even take a single step, or increase their breathing to normal again. The silence had to be pure. It was more than clear that the stuffed bunny wanted to move. Plushtrap may like having his little time to think about anything that crossed his mind, but he didn't like not moving a bit, not even an inch. He couldn't let a single sound either. He could do nothing, and it bothered him.

Ryan wasn't so affected by not moving however. It was true that no one liked not being able to move on the slightest, but the boy could take one of the few opportunities he had to think about what he could do for the next nights. He would've liked to have something planned out for next week so he didn't have to improvise; it was a fact that he'd need to, but it was better to know what to do instead of thinking something hurriedly that'd likely not be the best option all the time.

It was hard to contain the impatient, waiting, almost angered sigh. Nightmare's steps were still thundering across the house, albeit slower and stopping from time to time, followed by frustrated growls and snarls. He was losing what was left of his dangling patience. If he didn't have the chance to kill soon, Ryan was worried he'd snap and literally destroy the whole house. Nightmare didn't seem precisely capable of controlling his burning anger.

The next night would soon arrive, and the dark bear knew it. There were actually only some seconds left, and Nightmare was aware that he didn't have enough time to continue his search, no matter how much he refused to accept it. With a furious snort, he melted into the shadows.

Fortunately, he wouldn't come back in a long time.

Ryan looked at the barely-seen ceiling when he noticed that the footsteps trailed off. He stood up, still listening carefully – he didn't trust this at all. Maybe Nightmare had found them, or maybe he left. Ryan calmed down when he heard the alarm clock from the distance however, and finally let out that sigh that was eager to escape.

Plushtrap came to his side with a chirp, few times had he been so happy to move. The boy stared at the darkness for a moment before carefully turning on the flashlight. He had been waiting for that night to try and get any answer from Nightmare Freddy. It wasn't a nice thought, thinking that he may have gone back to his murderous habits due to the lack of attention. Ryan had only interacted with the Fredlets ever since his last encounter with the larger bear, and that just wasn't enough. Nightmare Freddy and the Fredlets, despite being basically the same, acted very differently. Befriending his mini-counterparts didn't mean befriending him, but maybe those little troublemakers had managed to throw some sense into him.

The flashlight was merely pointed at the floor as Ryan minutely eyed the salon just in case. Nightmare Chica wasn't there anymore, probably having gone somewhere else to stay away from Nightmare. Or from Nightmare Bonnie, who seemed to be absent as well. Seeing how there was no danger, Ryan kept going, Plushtrap always by his side, his eyes wandering around the room feeling observed.

Dog barks echoed outside as the two friends slowly walked down the right hall, muting their footsteps to not startle anyone. The Nightmares were completely gone, the theory of them disappearing brightened up but only lasted some seconds. Ryan still thought that was ridiculous and completely impossible, being a twisted nightmare or not.

He and Plushtrap entered the bedroom. Expecting it empty as always, they were surprised yet not surprised at seeing two Fredlets screeching lowly at each other. It was easy to see that one of them was the first to be befriended as revealed by the flashlight illuminating them, thing that soon put them out of their friendly brawl and made them look toward the source of the light.

The curious one gave a happy caw as it jumped off the bed with a low thud, its partner coming to the floor but not following yet. It instead tilted its head. Ryan slightly crouched with a giggle to greet the Fredlet who immediately nuzzled his arm. Plushtrap uttered a playful hiss that the little bear returned, and only that was necessary for them to start over the screech-brawl. The other Fredlet watched closely as it neared, limply sitting down with ears up in interest. Ryan couldn't hide a smile whenever Plushtrap and the Fredlets were together. Their childishness had no end.

The bear next to the kid flapped its ear in a circular movement as it made an interrogative noise. It stood up and turned around, again tilting its head. It wasn't looking at Ryan, rather at something behind him.

And that was when he heard the slow breathing right behind him.

His eyes widened a bit as he carefully looked over his shoulder, encountering Nightmare Freddy as he had expected. The kid turned around fully before taking two short steps back, noticing how the glowing yellow eyes were staring at him. Plushtrap and the other Fredlet soon stopped their piping noises when they noticed the animatronic staring down at the two of them, the plushie was quick to hide behind Ryan protectively. Something the boy figured out was that Nightmare Freddy's stare wasn't menacing. It wasn't as gentle as Nightmare Chica's, neutral could be the right word to define it.

The bear moved his sight towards the open door, at the darkness outside. He kept his gaze there for a brief moment before looking back at the boy, emitting a low rumble as the last remaining Fredlet peeked from behind his left shoulder. Ryan wanted to curse for not having Nightmare Fredbear around him – he knew Nightmare Freddy had just asked him a question. He was sure of it. Plushtrap's ears moved up. Even if he wasn't able to speak, he could still try to tell Ryan what the question was. It was necessary.

The plushie made his best impression of a garbled growl and snapped his jaws, and only that was enough to let the answer be seen. Nightmare Freddy wanted to know if it had been them who saved Nightmare Chica. He had been watching the last moments of the fight, before Nightmare Fredbear came in, and only knew that someone had saved the fellow Nightmare. He only wanted to know fully if it had been Ryan and Plushtrap.

Just to be sure, the kid asked, "Y-you mean… if I saved Chica?" The bear gave another rumble, the Fredlet right next to him peering at him, before slowly nodding. "Well, then… y-yeah." Nightmare Freddy almost looked content at the answer, much to Ryan's surprise. The Fredlet leaning on its larger version's shoulder let out a half-amazed trill as a very, very light smile formed on the bear's curled lip.

It was a great thing to notice that Nightmare Freddy cared about the others. At least that meant that the Nightmares could be friends with each other, except Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica of course. There wasn't a way to find out what the fox thought about his partners though.

Nightmare Freddy soon turned around, slowly, and walked out of the bedroom, the two Fredlets following him while bidding Plushtrap and Ryan goodbye with soft twitters.

Ryan couldn't be more satisfied. So far, he had gained four animatronics' trust. Only Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Foxy were left. Maybe it wasn't so hard, but the kid had to remember that it was only the trust stage. The true friendship hadn't been forged yet, only with Nightmare Fredbear and Plushtrap. At least he had two Nightmares to not worry about, and that sure was something.

Nightmare Bonnie behaved similarly to the chicken, just in a more hostile way. It wouldn't be too hard to get to his soft side. The fox was another story though. Ryan knew he disliked company and wanted his own space and time, plus there was the fact that he was rather hostile towards anything that dared to cross his invisible line without having gotten permission. Getting to his soft side would be more of a challenge, but Ryan would take it. He wasn't befriending the Nightmares just for his own good. He was doing it for them as well. They'd be happier if they weren't bitter and aggressive. No one could be happy that way, no one except for the feelingless Nightmare.

Both Plushtrap and Ryan decided to stay in the bedroom for the rest of the night. Things had been a little stirred, and plus the kid had gotten the attention he wanted from at least one of the Nightmares. Next night, he'd get to the tougher dare. He just wondered what he could do to befriend Nightmare Foxy. His options weren't too many.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Rock Raider – authors weren't allowed? I honestly don't know, I still see tons of people answering to their reviews on author notes or something similar. I don't get why the website would stop allowing that tho.**

 **Melaina – that'd be too spoilerific. I can only tell that there will be pretty sad/heartbreaking moments, but nothing else. Better keep y'all wondering ;)**

 **Guest – as mentioned in the very first chapter, he can still die again while in the afterlife.**


	23. Lazed

A bright white light surrounded the bedroom briefly.

Ryan, walking around the room thoughtfully, and Plushtrap, literally slumped on the edge of the bed, looked at the window almost simultaneously. The plushie had been startled by the shaft of light; he was at the edge of sleeping – if he could sleep, he would've been snoring –, and the sudden glow brought annoyed anger into him. As much as he didn't like lights, he relaxed soon enough. His tiredness overpowered the anger.

The kid didn't pay much attention either, but he felt happy it was going to rain again. He felt like it helped him concentrate, and the sound of the raindrops also calmed down the Nightmares. Well, at least he thought so. Ryan never made sure if that was true, but he still remembered how they stopped growling the first time it rained. Whatever the rain actually did, it ceased all hostility present on the animatronics, and that was enough.

The thunder growled. One by one, light drops started falling to the 'ground' outside, barely making contact with the glass of the window. Plushtrap tilted his head as he tried to look at the obscured window – the flashlight next to him, pointing at the middle of the room, wasn't very helpful when trying to illuminate the hallways. Both tips of his ears gave a slight flap before the plushie rested his head on the blanket again.

Ryan stopped his aimless wander in front of the right door, looking at Plushtrap before panning his attention back to the rain. He found it funny how the plushie had positioned himself; his body was slightly tilted, his right arm hung loosely from the edge of the bed, and his head was about to as well. His eyes, half closed, blinked tiredly from time to time.

It was clear that the plushie wasn't in the mood of moving around. Maybe the Nightmares couldn't sleep, but they could feel tired indeed. Just like Ryan. He decided to go out and explore a little, it wasn't like there was much else to do. He would've stayed there if Nightmare Freddy was still in the bedroom, that way the Fredlets could drive the boredom and tiredness away.

Ryan grabbed the flashlight just in case and left. Plushtrap moved his eyes towards him, but didn't follow. Too tired. And plus, he liked his new resting spot. He had never been on something so comfortable, so far the coziest thing he had been on was the carpet. He wouldn't move from there until it was truly necessary, he knew that for sure.

The light, kept aimed at the floor, dimly illuminated the hallway as Ryan sauntered by. A clap of thunder rumbled when he arrived at the end of the corridor, peering in first just to not meet face first with a not-so-happy-to-see-him animatronic. He only saw Nightmare Bonnie at the end of the parallel hall, looking towards it with his head slightly up as if he was concentrating on the raindrops that started to fall faster. He growled lowly in a non-aggressive manner as his eyes blinked and looked at the kid.

Ryan's guess had been right, the rain did ease the Nightmares. The rabbit was too entranced by the water that he didn't pay the boy much attention. That, or he was still shaken from the fight and needed some time to think thoroughly about it, not letting anyone or anything bother him.

The kid decided to not do anything about him yet, and kept walking towards the salon as Nightmare Bonnie averted his purple gaze. He did not find anyone there, but two glowing white eyes told him otherwise. The Fredlet jumped off the couch with a small screech, another one peeking from behind the piece of furniture. Ryan pulled a half smile, even though he was still worried. If the Fredlets were there, it meant that Nightmare Freddy must've been somewhere close. The kid didn't trust that the bear had calmed down so easily, he had probably just been bewildered at his courageous act and nothing else.

* * *

Plushtrap shot an irritated, whispering screech each time thunder rumbled across the house. He wanted to rest and hear the music of the rain, not be startled by lightning bolts that made him wince each time. He stared at the window, eyes narrowed – his look was menacing enough to wither a flower. He purred with irritation before trying to regain the calmness, blinking wearily once as his head lowered down again. He was sure he could just fall asleep and not wake up until next week, now he understood Ryan perfectly.

Wanting to sleep and not being able to was horrible.

His eyes closed, ears up to catch every sound of the raindrops plummeting to the ground. Perhaps he could find sleep like that. Peace finally reigned around him, and then the firm voice scared it away.

"Plushtrap."

He only opened one eye to look at the speaker. Among the darkness he could see Nightmare Fredbear next to the left door, staring down at him with worry etched on his eyes. Plushtrap crooned to let him know he was listening, albeit reluctantly since he had been taken out of what could have been his first nap.

"Where is Ryan?"

Nightmare Fredbear was honestly surprised about finding the two separated. Ryan and Plushtrap were always together like the soul mates they were, and in case one of them had to leave for a while, it'd be the plush toy. Nightmare Fredbear didn't like the kid roaming on his own either. The Nightmares could still perform a drastic change of demeanor.

Plushtrap glanced at the right door with a brief purr, and that was literally all the movement he would make before slumping his head down once more. The bear didn't quite like his newly achieved lazy behavior. The plushie was too confident. The situation with the Nightmares was still pending, nothing could be fully trusted yet. Plushtrap didn't seem too worried. Not _even_ worried.

Either he needed to gain at least the smallest bit of preoccupation, or Nightmare Fredbear was being overprotective. The accepted option was of course not the latter; Plushtrap was acting like an adorably spoiled child. At the moment he only wanted to listen to the rain and try to sleep.

Talking about that, he had already closed his eyes and the only thing that mattered to him was keep them like that. Little did he know, his efforts wouldn't give success.

Nightmare Fredbear heaved a sigh. He had faith in Plushtrap – if he wasn't worried at all, it meant Ryan was alright. Maybe he really was being overprotective. The only true threat around there would be Nightmare Foxy and possibly Nightmare Freddy. The other two were stuck on their business and it would be hard to get them out of their deep thoughts.

The bear turned to leave, to make sure Ryan was alright. He glanced one last time at Plushtrap. That little troublemaker would need to be kicked out of the bed to move around again. Nightmare Fredbear didn't know if he was content with the plushie's lack of worry. While it was true that he'd go with his friend if there truly was a need, it was still disappointing and somewhat irritating how he'd choose 'sleeping' over being with someone who cared about him.

The stuffed bunny was about to regain his peace when a roar almost made him spring up from the bed. Nightmare Fredbear's scarlet gaze darted towards the door.

 _Now_ they both had something to worry about.

* * *

"Gee, alright, I'm out!"

Ryan stumbled out of the salon as a seemingly angered Nightmare Freddy roared at him to get out of there. While he had been mellow towards him earlier, he didn't like him and the Fredlets acting like friends. Not yet. Fortunately, it was only a warning. The only harm caused was the scare the kid had gotten when the bear appeared out of nowhere and screamed at him. Nightmare Freddy snorted and stomped back into the darkness. Ryan was sure he heard at least one of the Fredlets produce a noise similar to a mocking giggle.

Nightmare Bonnie glowered at him with a low growl. The roar had snapped him out of his thousands thoughts, and few things bothered him more than that. Ryan noticed the eyes burying on his back, and turned around only to see the pissed-off rabbit looking at him with a scowl. "Why are you looking at me? I didn't do anything." he retorted, forming his own scowl.

Quick, light footsteps caught Nightmare Bonnie's attention, as well as Ryan's. The purple bunny's functioning ear moved up as he squinted to see what was coming.

The kid was slightly surprised at seeing a tired Plushtrap joining him alarmingly, but stopped at seeing that there was nothing to worry about.

Since he had been a lazy sleepy-head, the chastisement Nightmare Fredbear put over him was solving the problem on his own. It was a relief, but not a relief, for Plushtrap to find out that nothing was wrong. Nightmare Bonnie eyed the two almost inquisitively, ending his growl. "What's with the worried face?" Ryan asked Plushtrap, frowning. "I'm fine, Freddy is just a bit mad."

The plushie wanted to scream. _He_ was mad. He had been taken out of what could've been his first sleep for nothing? Unacceptable. Plushtrap screeched at the kid, whose scowl returned. "And now you blame it on me? You can start telling me what I did." Plushtrap made a muffled growl, as his mouth was fully closed. Ryan was just seeing a part of the bunny's old temper, always exaggeratedly angry over nothing.

As Nightmare Bonnie watched them, curiosity growing, he casually looked up for a moment before moving his whole head up. He let out a little croon as he moved his gaze away, looking down. Plushtrap and Ryan looked at the other side, where Nightmare Fredbear stood. And how not, the plushie was also mad at him. After all, he made him get off the bed and move around, the only two things he didn't want to do.

The golden bear seemed confused as to why nothing seemed to happen, other than the two friends having one of their childish quarrels. He had heard a menacing roar, where was the emergency? "Why is everyone so worried?" Ryan asked without expecting any answer.

"What happened?" the bear inquired firmly, almost not sounding like a question. "Nothing." Ryan gave a quick reply. "Freddy just went mad at me for a moment and nothing else."

Nightmare Fredbear relaxed at knowing everything was alright. Knowing how Nightmare Freddy only gave him a warning helped him understand how far he had gotten. The Nightmares didn't give warnings before attacking, the bear would've lashed out at the boy if he hadn't been shown kindness.

"The only problem here," Ryan added, his blue eyes looking at the still scowling Plushtrap. "is him." The plushie screeched at him, indignant. Nightmare Bonnie couldn't hold his curiosity, their so friendly relationship was almost heartwarming. The Nightmares weren't so friendly towards each other, and the rabbit wanted to know if something like that could be somehow possible. He looked back at the two, glowering at each other.

Even brawls had their bright side. At least Nightmare Bonnie had gotten nosey about the whole friendship thing.

* * *

Plushtrap had gone back to the bedroom in an instant, once again trying uselessly to regain his sleep as the thunderclaps kept screaming at him. Nightmare Fredbear was patrolling the house while Ryan strolled back towards the bedroom.

He paused when he passed by Plushtrap's hallway, and heard a strange, continuous deep noise coming from it. He took a glance, the flashlight off. He could see Nightmare Foxy's silhouette and glowing golden eyes standing idly on the middle of the corridor, staring at the wet window. Ryan looked at it. Raindrops pounded harshly against it, the trees danced with the wind.

He realized where the rumbling came from. A steady, croaky purr came from the fox as he focused on the falling water like it was the only thing that existed.

That was it. The rain. He liked it.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Rock Raider – the cupcake is not going to have an extensive role here, in this story the only thing it'll ever do is move its eyes and not much else. Some of the things you said will happen eventually, but I'm not telling which. As I said, better keep y'all wondering ;)**

 **jasonvsmichael132 – possibly and perhaps. Not going to spoil anything.**

 **pokemontrainerchaos – it would be certainly interesting to see a spin-off, I'm honestly curious about the direction you'll take it. You can go ahead and do it; just don't plagiarize (by that I mean don't write the exact same things I did).**


	24. Worried

"So you like it too?"

Nightmare Foxy moved his ears down partially as he caught the words, but no other movement came from him. His jaw slightly shivered as his constant, almost delighted rumble became a croon for a moment. Sensing no fear in the child, he stayed calm. There was a small moment of silence, the only sounds being the rain and the continuous, throaty purring as golden eyes stared at the high window with curiosity and even enchantment. Like it had happened with Plushtrap, Nightmare Foxy had no idea what the rain exactly was – for him, it was like magic, a mysterious phenomenon that had no explanation.

"It's called rain," Ryan said lowly, looking up at the window as well. He seemed to have gotten the fox's attention; he wasn't looking at him, but he was fully listening. After all, the kid was the only one who had the answer to the entrancing event outside, and it didn't feel right to admire something without knowing what it was. "It's nice to just listen to it."

Nightmare Foxy's eyes looked at him. He uttered a low brief, calm growl. It was _that_ kind of relatively vibrant noise.

' _Yes.'_

It was impressive how he actually gave an answer in a non-hostile way or reluctantly. He straight away left his thoughts be seen without a single drop of malice. It seemed like the rain plus a burning confidence were the best pair. The Nightmares couldn't show aggressiveness with such peace around them.

Ryan noticed something. Nightmare Foxy truly liked watching the rain, but that window was far away. Anything could be barely seen, and the fox had to be rather annoyed by that. The kid glanced behind him, barely being able to spot the outline of the door leading to his bedroom. A shaft of light made its way through the window as he looked back at the animatronic right next to him. Maybe doing him a favor would help when trying to befriend him.

The storm could be much better seen from the windows on the right hall. If he could get Nightmare Foxy there, a friendship with him would be easier to forge. The Nightmares appreciated help as proven by Nightmare Chica's much more tolerating behavior after having saved her.

Now Ryan just hoped the fox would accept help.

"I don't think you can see it from there," he muttered, trying to sound as calm as possible to not bother Nightmare Foxy in any way. His eyes glanced back at the window as he murmured a dark grunt. Ryan could also recognize that sound.

' _No.'_

The silence returned while the kid tried to think how to lead Nightmare Foxy towards the other windows. He wasn't sure if he would follow him, or go on his own, or just stay there. "Would you like to see the rain closer?" he finally asked. The musing animatronic didn't respond in any way immediately, though his ears lowered afterwards with a slow growl.

Giving the boy a sideways glance, he waited to hear what he had in mind. Ryan was delighted at getting the attention he wanted, he thought whatever he tried wouldn't succeed having in mind how bitter and solitary Nightmare Foxy was. Well, it was good to know that even the most aggrieved of Nightmares could listen, _if_ they had the slightest interest in the words being spoken of course.

Ryan tried to contain a smile; he had to remain confident. Nightmare Foxy was well differentiated between the others in terms of attitude, any lack of faith or trust in such occasion was enough to send him from gentle to irritable in no time.

"Well, if you want to have a better look," Ryan looked towards the obscured windows of the right hall, but didn't say anything else, waiting for Nightmare Foxy to understand by himself. The animatronic barely moved up his lateral sight toward there, actually being able to spot the windows since he could see much better in the darkness. Nightmare Foxy rumbled as he got the message. He didn't move, however. Something didn't feel right for him; he couldn't believe he was listening to a child. Such a powerful being wouldn't listen to anyone in a normal case, let alone be told what to do. It wasn't an order, just a choice, but the fox still felt like he was being forced to go.

Good thing it was worth it, but he still wasn't content with himself for accepting something from a lesser being.

Hesitation flashed through his eyes before he closed them as he turned towards the right hall, opening them as he walked past Ryan with surprisingly light footsteps. Well, maybe not so surprising. Nightmare Foxy was made for running after all.

Plushtrap had completely given up on trying to sleep. He finally accepted it was useless, the lightning and the basic impossibility for the Nightmares to sleep were a barrier hard to take down. He was back again in the bed, same exact position as he had been before being –pointlessly– woken up. His half-closed eyes always stared at the wall, or at the floor, showing nothing more than boredom.

His ears moved up warily at the sound of footsteps too close to not pay attention. He looked up after making eye contact with the rather sulky animatronic that walked past the bedroom; the golden eyes were staring directly at him, he knew it. And it wasn't precisely in a friendly way, but Nightmare Foxy felt so attached to the enchanting song of the rain that he wouldn't bother losing time with something as useless as trying to scare a living plushie just for the fun of it.

His gait slowed down until halting as he arrived at his destination. Very few times had they done so, but the fox's eyes were showing pure surprise. He could see the drops pounding against the window, the water curtain that had formed outside; the storm was gaining power rapidly, the wind was heard all over the house.

Nightmare Foxy moved his muzzle close to the window, inspecting the outside minutely. He felt like he could touch the rain at any moment; sometimes, not being able to get out of that house was a shame.

Plushtrap was almost unable to get his sight off of him. He didn't really trust the Nightmares at all yet, with the exception of Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmare Chica and the Fredlets. The tolerance between the plushie and the larger animatronics wasn't strong enough, not even close. Plushtrap wouldn't guard down, whether he was over-reacting or not. And he probably was, anyways. He wasn't one to take bad things well.

But it wasn't the fox what was dragging his attention towards the window, it was the storm as well. Only the plummeting drops made him forget about a possible threat, even if said threat was just standing a few meters away from him.

It was nothing from outer space that the plush toy soon grew tired of looking behind all the time. He could still hear the rain, and he didn't mind anything else. When Plushtrap turned to rest his head down, he was lightly startled at seeing Ryan in the room – being distracted, he had no idea when he even started following the animatronic.

"Worried about him?" the kid asked him, keeping his blue gaze on the fox. Plushtrap looked at him as well, tilting his head partly as he gave a low chitter. Even around his friend, he didn't feel comfortable. He couldn't help but picture Nightmare Foxy suddenly turning around and killing both of them – the Nightmares were unpredictable as that, especially one that had hostility around all the time and hadn't been befriended in the trusting way yet. Ryan sighed, "I'm pretty sure there's nothing to worry about now. He likes the rain."

The bunny was still cautious. He knew that the crimson animatronic's behavior was unpredictable, raining or not. Even a lightning bolt could make him snap, having in mind his apprehension to bright lights. Such sudden glow on his sensitive eyes could be dangerous. He seemed too calm for any kind of sudden aggression though, his eyes were closed, his ears up as he caught the sound of every single drop falling down. The distant, growling thunder didn't seem to bother him. Moreover, he also liked it. He found the deep rumble music for his ears, as long as it wasn't too startling.

Plushtrap settled his head down and crooned. He wouldn't feel alright around the Nightmares until they all had been befriended, and that was the way it was going to stay. "You're worrying too much." Ryan told him with half a smile. "I'm sure they all know that they can be good. It's just hard for them to show it."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Just noticed I've been a little while without updating. I've been pretty ill these days, when I catch a cold I just can't think properly. It's better to let y'all know.**

 **FanficLovingPerson – I'm really hyped for FNaF World as well, but I don't think I can add the little reference. Mainly because it wouldn't work out at all with what I have planned.**

 **Mia – nah, the cupcake is a veeeeery minor character in this/not really, Nightmare is the antagonist in the story.**

 **Alright, I have some news that may brighten up your day (or night). My awesome cousin has decided to make this story into a comic that she'll upload on YouTube! She can get pretty lazy with drawing, so don't expect the episodes to come out as fast as my updates. The first episode may be uploaded this month, but no promises!**

 **(thanks Rock Raider for pointing out the error. Fixed it now).**


	25. Tricked

Several hours had passed, but the storm wasn't giving up; if anything, it was gaining power.

The wind was downright menacing already. The window trembled from time to time, several creaks were heard here and there. The strong gale could be heard all over, just as if the wind was blowing inside the house. The rain was falling so fast everything looked covered by mist, the barely-seen clouds were black as a crow's wing, and the thunder clapped with anger. A gentle rain had transformed into a fierce storm, and certain friends didn't like that.

Ryan had sat next to his buddy. As much as he disliked thunderstorms like that, he wasn't having much fun. He suddenly wanted the rain to stop, he wanted everything to go quiet. Plushtrap was feeling exactly the same, each lightning bolt that illuminated the outside made him flinch as if he had been harshly pinched.

Arms crossed with preoccupation, the kid closed his eyes as he tried to focus on something else. He hoped any thought could make him forget the raging tempest, no matter how nerve-racking it was. It was hard to think in a situation like that though, and Ryan knew it, but he had to try. Anything to not focus on the outside.

As he pondered, distant noises caught his attention. He looked up, trying to mute the storm and attempt to overhear something else. Yes, there was something sounding indeed. A deep murmuring, far down the halls, perhaps in the salon. With some more attention, the boy came to the realization that what he was hearing were voices.

Voices?

So far the only animatronic that could speak was Nightmare Fredbear, but Ryan was sure there was more than one voice. He was unsure if it was really a voice, however. It sounded more like discordant and deep hisses that increased and lowered their volume, but still sounding like heavily broken words. That was something he never heard there.

"You heard that too?" he asked Plushtrap, who was also looking at the left door having heard the murmuring. He glanced at his companion, whispering an agreeing chirp. Something mysterious was going on, and they were going to figure it out.

They stood up almost at the same time, and they both walked towards the left door; Nightmare Foxy was still next to the window. He seemed to like storms more than rain alone, the whistling of the wind was a sound he liked to hear. He wouldn't go away unless the storm stopped; and he honestly thanked Ryan for having made him go there.

The two friends walked quietly down the hall. Carefully, both Ryan and Plushtrap peeked around the salon's doorway to not be spotted by whatever could be there; and they were very surprised at what they found.

The rest of animatronics were there, looking rather worried, along with Nightmare Fredbear and his shadowy counterpart – they had been clearly arguing, and not in a good mood at all. There was something that didn't feel right between the obvious conflict, though. If Nightmare couldn't speak, yet Ryan heard Nightmare Fredbear's voice-

" _yOU arE All BLiNd."_ the dark animatronic hissed. Simultaneously, Ryan and Plushtrap were taken aback at the discovery. Nightmare could talk? Since when? All they ever heard from him were distorted growls.

That voice was even more frightening than the tempest. A garbled, deep, menacing whisper that haunted those being spoken to.

" _LAsT time I ChECked, tHis HOusE Was A FEarFUl pLaCE, nOt A PeTTIng Zoo,"_ Nightmare hissed, his voice increasing in anger as he spoke. He knew what Ryan had been doing all along. That just reduced the chances of being able to forget about him on future nights.

"You are the one who has been blinded." Nightmare Fredbear growled. "You may want a world full of blood, but we do not. Not anymore."

Nightmare chuckled, sounding like a heavily distorted growl more than anything. _"And heRe I WaS, thINKing thAT YoU WeRe The SmArT One. LooK At thEm."_ The golden bear looked behind him, at the Nightmares who averted their glowing gazes knowing they were being referred at. _"TeLL Me hOW FriendLY ThEY LooK."_ The animatronics merely looked at each other. No one would think a group of razor sharp claws and teeth could be friendly. It was possible, but Nightmare wouldn't see that, ever. He just saw what he wanted to see – killing machines, nothing more than that.

"You cannot judge them by how they look." Nightmare Fredbear said lowly.

" _StoP LiviNg in Such a StuPId WOrlD."_ Nightmare snarled. _"We aLL WeRE MaDe To kiLL, ANd thAT WilL NeveR ChANge. IT Is hARd To bEliEVe thAT yoU Let YourSElvES Be foOLed By a BrAT."_

Ryan narrowed his eyes angrily as he watched. But what did Nightmare mean by 'fooled'? The kid wasn't tricking anyone.

Unless… that cursed demon was doing what he thought he was.

He was trying to make the animatronics go back to their aggressive selves.

Nightmare glowered at the silent animatronics. _"ThaT nOSeY KiD Has tuRNed YOu InTO WeaKLIngS. yOU wERe meANt tO be RUthLEsS KiLliNG maCHiNes."_ He snapped his head towards Nightmare Fredbear with a brief growl. _"AnD You, YOU ShouLD Be AsHAmeD."_ He broke into a chuckle again, an almost displeased one. _"tHe OnE WHo WaS MEanT to bE tHE BiGgesT ThReaT amOnG Us, iS ProtECtinG An inSIgnIFIcaNt ChiLd."_

Nightmare Fredbear growled. But as much as he wanted to unleash his fury, he had to stay calm; he wouldn't take the bait. The dark animatronic looked back at the others. _"Don'T TrY To Be SOmeTHIng yoU Are noT. EveRY SinGLe One oF You WaS CrEATed to KILL. ThaT BrAT And hiS StuPID toY,"_ Plushtrap gave a muffled growl at the insult, Ryan's eyes flickered to the plushie for an instant. Plushtrap had already given out their position the last time Nightmare attacked, he didn't want it to repeat. _"aRe trYInG to Be FrIenDS wiTH yoU oNly to noT HaVE To worRY abOUt you. TheY ArE LyINg to yOu, mAkING YoU BeliEVE tHeY are heLPIng."_

Ryan was burning with anger after hearing that. He wouldn't tolerate such lie – but what was he going to do? The Nightmares, except for Nightmare Chica and the Fredlets, had started a low growl. They believed it. They believed that liar's words.

" _Enough."_ Nightmare Fredbear barked, knowing where it was going at, putting an end to his shadowy counterpart's untruthfulness. "You are not _anyone_ to tell them what they are, or what they must do." He knew it was too late. The tattered robots had already got that fake thought on their minds. Nightmare closed his eyes nonchalantly with a grin as he turned to leave. His work there was done.

Ryan and Plushtrap soon abandoned the doorway before they could be seen; the kid was at the edge of tears.

"Don't turn your back on me." the angered golden bear hissed, keeping his scarlet gaze on Nightmare, who stopped to give him a sideways glance. _"No, doN'T tuRN yoUr BaCK on ME."_ he sneered. Fittingly enough given the situation, a loud, bright lightning bolt flashed across the sky outside, illuminating the room for a brief moment.

Nightmare Fredbear's growl increased, but before any other words could be spoken Nightmare had disappeared into the darkness. He heaved a sigh. Those words would cause a wound hard to heal, the Nightmares had been told a lie that they believed, and it wouldn't be easy to take them out of it.

Who would've thought words hurt more than deadly teeth and claws.

One of the Fredlets, standing next to Nightmare Freddy, looked at the doorway, tilting its head with an upset chitter. It knew how bad the whole thing was going, it needed to warn Ryan – even if that was already unnecessary. It looked at its larger version, apparently lost in thought. His growling only meant one thing: his mind wouldn't change towards the good side. Sadness seemed to flash across those white pupils as the Fredlet hurried towards the bedroom.

Nightmare Freddy noticed it, but paid no mind. His little counterparts weren't even on his side anymore, but in a different team or not, he wouldn't treat them as enemies. They were a part of him no matter what, it would be the same as arguing with himself.

The Fredlet wasn't the only one who left. Nightmare Chica snorted and stormed towards the kitchen, Nightmare Bonnie snarling at her as she passed by; she was so mad and confused she didn't even give a reply. She seemed to be the only one in the group aside from Nightmare Fredbear and the Fredlets who wouldn't believe such bunch of lies. The other two Nightmares hadn't gotten enough trust to not believe something like that. Even if Nightmare Bonnie had grown curious about friendship before, he erased those thoughts out of his mind after hearing another –nonexistent– side of the story.

He knew he was made to kill.

He just didn't feel like he was supposed to, but he wouldn't judge himself by his feelings.

* * *

The heavy rain accompanied the scene, accompanied Ryan's feelings. He felt like he could explode from anger, and Plushtrap wasn't any different. He kept growling, walking in circles as if he was cursing. "I can't believe it." the kid growled. "After all I've done for them, and he just goes and… and…" he trailed off, trying to find the right words that seemed to be lost. "And _ruins everything!"_ He sat on the bed, trying to get the anger away from him. He had never felt so irritated.

Nightmare Foxy, still watching the rain, turned to look at him after hearing the yell. Ryan wiped a single tear streaming down his cheek. He wasn't sad at all, he was angry. And scared. Believing such story, it wouldn't be easy to get back Nightmare Bonnie's slim trust, and much less Nightmare Freddy's.

Plushtrap stopped circling around, looking at his friend with a saddened expression. He didn't like to see him like that, he wanted to see him happy. Things were going so well, he smiled almost all the time. Now, that happiness faded away, and all because of that cursed _thing_. Plushtrap growled at the thought of Nightmare being responsible for everything. He was hateful enough just by being a ruthless killer, but going as far as that wasn't forgivable.

Plushtrap stood next to Ryan, uttering a gentle croon. The kid didn't like seeing him sad either. The plushie didn't take that kind of emotions well. Boredom, sadness, the golden bunny hated that kind of feelings; he wasn't used to them. "It'll all be alright…" Ryan told him sadly, trying his best to look unconcerned about it all. If only it was that easy.

The Fredlet dashed through the open door, slowing down its gait as it entered the bedroom before hopping onto the bed. It twittered sorrowfully, curling next to the kid. Company was what he truly needed.

Nightmare Foxy watched them with interest. He was so much of a loner he forgot the meaning of friendship the moment he was created. But it seemed like something that was necessary, like something that'd make anyone happy. The fox had been happy being himself: the solitary, grumpy wanderer. But having someone who cared about you was something he wanted to have, at least for a moment. Those three looked so happy at each other's presence. Perhaps it wasn't so bad, or weird. Everyone needs to have company.

Nightmare Foxy cocked his head to the side as he watched attentively. The storm, finally ceasing, didn't seem to hold his attention anymore.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **i am mi-chan – during FNaF 4's setting, Springtrap himself didn't exist yet. Despite being named Plushtrap, I doubt he has any relation with Springtrap.**

 **starwarsrebels – as soon as she uploads the first episode, I'll post a link to her channel :) May take quite a while tho.**

 **Guest – Plushtrap will learn to speak, but later on.**

 **Mia – really depends on what Scott is planning for Halloween. If the update has something I can add and makes sense to appear on the story, then definitely.**


	26. Faced

Deep footsteps approached the bedroom.

Nightmare Fredbear's gaze stared into the room, he didn't enter. He found it hard to tell Ryan what had happened, it was probably one of the most difficult things he had done. It wasn't easy to tell a friend that his hard work had been completely ruined, even if said friend already found it out. And seeing it happen was a tougher pain than being told so.

The bear seemed surprised when he entered, surprised when he saw a clearly depressed Ryan with Plushtrap and the Fredlet by his side, equally saddened and somewhat angered. He had assumed they were just frightened by the tempest that took place not long ago; confirmation wasn't needed to tell that a little kid would feel nervous with a storm like that. Nightmare Fredbear himself had been preoccupied about it. The gale was strong enough to rip the whole house off the ground.

"Ryan," the bear started. The child barely looked up at him, though the plushies gave more attention. Sadness could be easily seen on those scarlet eyes, and that was pretty much the only thing that made Ryan look at the animatronic. He wasn't in the mood of talking. It almost seemed as if Nightmare Fredbear didn't want to continue talking either. He felt a burning sadness by just thinking of what he was going to say and what the kid's reaction could be.

If Ryan hadn't known it yet, he'd be destroyed. Not much difference, he already was.

The bear heaved a quiet sigh, merely looking down before continuing, "There is something you must know…" By his expression and remorse to speak, Ryan already guessed what he wanted to tell him. And he knew one thing: he did not, under any circumstances, want to hear about that shadowed demon and his doings for a while. A long while.

"I know." the kid muttered. He made a brief pause before almost regretfully adding, "I heard everything."

Nightmare Fredbear looked hurt by the answer. Ryan _saw_ everything, and thus he knew better than anyone that he'd have a hard time trying to gain back the trust he had gotten, and it was a dismaying thought. The Nightmares, having believed a lie like that, weren't only surprised, but hellishly angry. They really did think they had been betrayed, and they wouldn't permit that.

Ryan felt his eyes watering, but he held back the tears. Neither Plushtrap nor the Fredlet were familiarized with sensing such powerful sadness among anyone, and it only worried them. Plushtrap cooed sweetly, but the kid gave no indication of listening to the comfort. Now the plushie was truly worried. He started to hate sadness more than ever. Seeing someone sorrowed like that wasn't pleasing, the plush toy felt bad, felt horrible at seeing a close friend like that.

For the first time ever, he was feeling empathy. Plushtrap was unsure whether he liked that feeling or not. It could be nice to share someone's emotions, but it wasn't so nice to share such pain. For Plushtrap, it was good and bad. He was confused about it, never having been on a bittersweet situation. There's a first time for everything, but the bunny would've wanted his first time to be less harsh.

Nightmare Foxy could also feel all the sorrow floating around. Rain wasn't so important for him anymore, he wanted to know what was going on, something pushed him to go and figure it out. Where was all that sadness coming from? Why was it there? Just what was happening? Questions swarmed his head, but they were replaced by Ryan's words when the fox remembered them.

" _I know that you all are hiding a kind self that you don't want to show."_

Was that kind self showing up? Was it kicking out, begging the animatronic to forget his murderous side and try to understand the slightest bit of what was going on? He had been lost in the whole situation. He didn't know how friendly Plushtrap and the Fredlets were towards Ryan, how much Nightmare Fredbear cared about him, what had happened at the salon earlier. He wanted to know, mostly because he needed to.

The kid looked at Nightmare Fredbear; his blue eyes twinkled with dreariness. "What am I going to do now?" he asked, almost not expecting an answer. He knew that trying the flashlight and courage tricks wouldn't work since he was dealing with angry creatures; _very_ angry creatures that weren't listening to their instincts anymore. They wouldn't care if Ryan wasn't afraid, they'd hate him anyways.

He grew more and more disappointed when Nightmare Fredbear didn't give an answer, and stood thoughtful. There wasn't much any of them could do. The bear couldn't force the Nightmares to behave. That wasn't how things worked there. Ryan had to solve it by himself, and that was the worst part. He alone wouldn't have many chances of getting the animatronics back. If only he had any other animatronic that wasn't Nightmare Fredbear or Plushtrap by his side, that could be a way to gain back the trust. Seeing how their fellow members were on the other side, they'd have to join as well. Ryan was sure the plan wouldn't work out as well as he thought. It was too easy to be true.

"I have to try." he blurted lowly, Nightmare Fredbear moving his scarlet gaze towards him in surprise. The plushies did the same, though more innocently. "If I don't act now, it'll be too late. I have to do something, even if I fail."

Despite how dangerous it was, the golden bear couldn't tell the kid he was wrong. Waiting for too long would make things worse.

Kids learn from mistakes after all. If Ryan failed, he'd know what to do next. Nightmare Fredbear had faith in him.

The fox looked at them when he sensed the sadness fading away. What was that kid up to? He couldn't stop wondering. "You guys stay here." Ryan looked over his shoulder as he jumped off the bed to look at Plushtrap and the Fredlet, who unsurprisingly were at the edge of following. They stopped, but didn't really want to. The kid knew what he was doing, but his friends weren't so sure. They learnt to trust him, but the whole thing was dangerous. Neither Nightmare Bonnie nor Nightmare Freddy were going to immediately calm down at a sign of bravery. Something else was needed there, but no one knew exactly what.

Still, trying never hurt anyone. Not yet.

The animatronics present in the bedroom watched the kid leave with the flashlight on his hand, huffing nervously as he wandered into the corridor. He felt his legs numb as he walked, and halted for a moment. He was getting scared, and he couldn't be. Not now. The Nightmares already acted aggressively when sensing fear, being themselves. _Angry_ Nightmares sensing fear were anything related to deadly and beyond.

He tried to calm himself down and dispose of the fear that had caught up to him, until he realized it was almost impossible. He was aware of what he was getting into. There were no second chances there. Once he encountered an animatronic, he'd either live to tell the tale, die, or get badly hurt if Nightmare Fredbear managed to get there on time. Two very bad options, one happy option. So encouraging.

Ryan looked at the end of the hall, barely illuminated by the flashlight. He felt slight shivers. He didn't want to do such craziness, but he had to. Taking a confident breath, he continued walking, already prepared knowing that either Nightmare Bonnie or Nightmare Freddy could be waiting in the darkness. The kid tried to not fully point the flashlight at the hall, otherwise the Nightmares would notice him too early and don't leave him a single chance to react to an attack.

When he arrived at the end of the hall, he unintentionally tensed when he saw Nightmare Bonnie turning to face him with a sullen snarl after hearing his footsteps and catching glimpse of the light's glimmer. Those purple eyes glowed with malice, Ryan was witnessing the old, hostile animatronic Nightmare Bonnie had always been. And he despised staring at such monster. To think he could be _hugging_ that animatronic someday if it wasn't for Nightmare... Perhaps the wound caused by his treacherous words would heal, but never disappear completely. What if the Nightmares kept thinking Ryan could've been a traitor even if he never acted like one? It would interfere greatly with the bonding progress, because they'd never trust him enough. Just seeing how furious the rabbit looked was enough to tell that it wasn't going to be easy to get the lying words out of his mind.

Nightmare Bonnie's eyes narrowed, a constant growl escaping his slightly parted jaws. Fear crept up around Ryan, and he tried his best to make it go away. He made sure the flashlight was pointing at the floor before quickly saying, "Come on! He lied to you!" Nightmare Bonnie snapped his jaws to make it more than clear that he couldn't care less about whatever the boy had to say. He wouldn't believe any of it. "I'd never betray you! Why would I do that?" His words weren't taking any effect. The rabbit was playing deaf, he didn't do any effort to understand the words. There was only one thought on his mind.

 _Kill._

Not only his legs, Ryan felt his whole body go numb when the snarls got louder and louder. He could almost hear what the animatronic was thinking, the word echoed around him like a haunting dream. The attack was impending, and he was sure his limbs wouldn't respond soon enough to get him running out of there. He couldn't get his eyes off of those teeth and claws. He had never been more terrified of them.

He wanted to run as fast as his heart was beating. He wanted to do _something_. But he couldn't. Fear completely paralyzed him; he couldn't hold back the tears. He couldn't do anything else other than mentally pray for someone to help him before it was too late.

Another jaw snap, the next thing Ryan saw was Nightmare Bonnie lunging at him before a yellow shape came in with a sharp squawk, pushing the bluish purple animatronic away.

* * *

 **Ugh, I hate not updating regularly. School is a pain, even more now that the horrible exam time has arrived DX**

 **Devon – that was one amazing read, I really enjoyed it :) But as much as I love your idea, I already have an ending planned, though something you mentioned may appear.**

 **Rock Raider – actually, Nightmare did not create the other Nightmares. Did I cause a bit of confusion there? If so, it was completely unintentional.**

 **Tigersfury – the Nightmares won't talk in this.**

 **DarkCream – it wasn't any special reason. Pretty much the first name that came to my mind and I was content with.**

 **Mia – said earlier, I have the ending planned, but ideas are always appreciated ^^/yes, I know.**

 **Pardoxia - hey, that song really matches well with the whole story :)**

 **Oh, yes, about the Hallo stuff. As I hope you all know, Scott is releasing two updates. One, as he says, will add the new characters that appear on his website. You can be sure they will appear here. I'm actually really excited to bring them in!**


	27. United

Shocked blue eyes stared at the scene before them.

A very mad looking Nightmare Chica stood between Ryan and Nightmare Bonnie, directing the bunny a menacing glare. The cupcake was reflecting that same expression, even more effectively than its owner since that thing's eyes were certainly more expressive than Nightmare Chica's. She breathed heavily, a –successful– attempt to look far more angered than she was.

Nightmare Bonnie took a few steps back with a rumbling growl, almost dumbfounded at the chicken protecting Ryan. That had been the second time she had saved him, there was nothing left to doubt; she really did consider him a friend, or at least something close to a friend.

She took a step forth with a warning caw. If Nightmare Bonnie wanted blood stained on his jagged teeth, he'd have to go through her. Nightmare Chica was really starting to provoke him. He barked a brief bellow to make clear he wanted his rival out of the situation, but the glowering animatronic didn't move on the slightest and instead kept her one-eyed gaze fixed on Nightmare Bonnie, who was starting to get way too annoyed already. Ryan was sure the rabbit was acting like his brother. He had that one rule: he could mess with someone, but no one could mess with him. Nightmare Bonnie was doing exactly the same. He could freely provoke Nightmare Chica to the point of driving her to a fight, but he wouldn't tolerate her provoking him.

None of them moved, and the kid was worried they'd battle again. He didn't want either of them hurt, nor did he want the fight to mess things up even more.

Having heard the hubbub, Plushtrap's quick footsteps approached the end of the corridor before the plushie let himself be seen out of the darkness. The Fredlet followed him, stopping next to Ryan as Plushtrap cooed at him, wanting to know if he was alright even if the answer was obvious. He was somewhat pale from the huge scare he had been given, but overall he was fine and that was all the plushies wanted to know.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Ryan told them hurriedly, nervous about the fight that could take place at any moment. Noticing how the two Nightmares were at the edge of lashing their fury at each other, Plushtrap and the Fredlet moved their gazes towards them rather fearfully. They didn't like fights either, and the three of them prayed for the animatronics to calm down for some unknown reason.

For the moment, they were just trying to scare each other. Nightmare Bonnie wrinkled his nose with a snarl in an aggressive manner before letting out a fierce bellow.

That was cut by a fiercer one.

Ryan had no time to realize what happened when a red blur dashed past him and the two plushies and silenced the rabbit with a ferocious, prolonged roar. When the confusion cleared up, it was a surprise to see that Nightmare Foxy had been the one who interrupted the fight.

Nightmare Bonnie had to flinch back when the gaping jaw ended the roar with a shrill snap. Nightmare Foxy snorted afterwards to make crystal clear that he was angry and did not want that rabbit causing problems. It wasn't a willing choice to face that fox, even less having in mind how angered he was. A quick look into those narrowed, wild golden eyes and anyone with common sense would flee.

Nightmare Chica looked at him. There was a mix of emotions painted on her eye. She was thankful for getting help at the right moment, but she was also confused for the rescuer being Nightmare Foxy. He never showed much friendliness towards the kid, and he protecting Ryan was something to deeply think about. There was a low chitter from the Fredlet as it hid behind Ryan, still frightened. Plushtrap gave it a reassuring croon, but it didn't seem enough to get the small bear out of its hiding spot. Plushtrap knew there wasn't anything to worry about. While Nightmare Foxy's screech meant nothing and was only a severe warning, the plush bunny still knew it had been taken as a threat.

Nightmare Bonnie unwillingly backed away as he stared at the sharp-toothed barrier that kept his kill away from him with narrowed eyes. He couldn't fight against Nightmare Chica _and_ Nightmare Foxy, and if he wanted to kill, he'd have to do it. And going against two Nightmares alone was downright crazy.

Leaving aside that the last animatronic he thought would come to help him had done so, Ryan took confident steps until he was between the fox and the chicken. Plushtrap and the Fredlet didn't move, they knew what the kid was doing and it was better to not interfere. Nightmare Chica barely looked down at the child before glancing back at Nightmare Bonnie; Nightmare Foxy didn't pay Ryan attention at all as he kept on growling.

"Are you listening now?" the boy asked Nightmare Bonnie firmly, feeling protected. The rabbit gave a throaty rumble as a response. "I'm telling you, all you heard was a lie." Nightmare Bonnie didn't quite believe the words spoken, and growled louder – only to get a deep trill from Nightmare Chica, warning him to listen. "I'd never lie to you, can't you see that? Everything I do is for you all. I want you to be happy. Would you rather disappear, or stay here with someone who cares about you?"

The last question left the animatronic wondering. Ryan didn't sound like a liar on the slightest, and pondering about it, he didn't have the traits of someone who'd act for himself only. He wasn't greedy or selfish, but something was making Nightmare Bonnie believe Nightmare's words instead. Maybe they had more effects than previously thought. Everything the boy spoke was the truth, and the calmer rabbit wanted to believe it, but something prevented him from doing so.

Nightmare Chica quavered softly. She was probably telling him the same things Ryan did to make it clearer, and more believable. The Nightmares didn't lie to each other, being rivals or not. Nightmare was an exception, of course, but they didn't know that yet. Nightmare Bonnie was far more relaxed, and Nightmare Foxy stopped his growl after realizing it. "I trust you." Ryan said lowly, locking eyes with the rabbit. "I need to know if you trust me."

The gentleness he was speaking with kept Nightmare Bonnie's anger away. He trusted the kid in a way, but the lie had caused a mess around him. He still wasn't fully sure of who to believe; both Nightmare and Ryan sounded confident with what they said, but the boy meant it in a way the shadow-cloaked animatronic didn't, and that was the only difference between their versions of the story.

He slowly looked down. Crooned softly.

' _Yes.'_

Fear transformed into happiness when the answer came to light. That was what Ryan wanted to hear. He was grateful it had been solved, but he wouldn't have been able to change Nightmare Bonnie's mind without the others' help. He really did owe them one. Nightmare Chica looked at him with a slow trill. She almost seemed to smile as Nightmare Foxy also moved his gaze towards the kid. For the first time, Ryan saw something else on the fox's eyes. He saw curiosity, and a sparkling desire to learn about what friendship was about. He already learnt one thing about friendship there.

Friends always had each other's backs.

The kid smiled, and Plushtrap couldn't keep in a little smile of his own. "Thank you." the boy said lowly, showing all of his happiness. The two animatronics uttered their own welcoming responses, except for Nightmare Bonnie, who remained silent. He made a low, sad croon, and Ryan didn't need to struggle to figure out what it meant. He was apologizing. He could tell by his expression. In some cases, the Nightmares' eyes told more than one thousand words, and the sorrow of having almost killed a friend swam in those glowing purple eyes.

"Yes, I forgive you."

His only functioning ear moved up when the rabbit realized Ryan understood him, and most importantly, accepted his apology. There was a heartwarming smile on his face as he calmly said, "Everyone makes mistakes."

Mistakes…

Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica looked at each other. For a moment they wondered if they were mistaken when treating each other as rivals. They never had anything in common, but now they did. They felt protective, they felt… happy. They thought killing was the only thing that could bring joy among them, but it wasn't that. The thought of being their very own, strange, eerie family was. Even for a killing machine, having friend was something new and pleasing. They liked to have someone to care for them, and someone to care about. Nightmare Foxy realized all that as well.

They could see it all so clear.

But of course, there always had to be something to interrupt the happy moment.

Nightmare Freddy came out of the salon with a growl. Ryan slightly backed away when the bear looked at the scene in front of his glowing eyes, but he didn't seem to pay any special attention to the non-hostile Nightmares. He hadn't heard anything, he didn't know what happened.

And thus, all he saw before him was still a traitor.

The growl became a snarl when the yellow eyes locked with Ryan's blue ones. Nightmare Chica was quick to stand on his way though, leaving him rather stunned. There was something odd going on there, but he wouldn't care. The fox stood protectively in front of Ryan as well, and Nightmare Bonnie reinforced the protection with a warning growl.

Nightmare Freddy was confused. Everyone was protecting the kid, and the bear couldn't find a reason. The other two Fredlets chirped happily at the scene, and the other one replied back equally as happy. Nightmare Freddy growled when he saw it with what he considered the enemy, and gave a husky rumble, ordering the Fredlet to go back with him.

However, his smaller version didn't do as told, and instead walked next to Ryan as so did Plushtrap. The yellow eyes widened when Nightmare Freddy noticed that everyone was together, like friends, like a group. Like an united family.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Mia – can't tell, it'd be spoilerific/I'll not use your ending exactly as you've written it, but perhaps something from it is added/I don't think there'll be a sequel/wow. Can you read minds?**

 **ChuckNorris'ssister – I wasn't referring to Spring Bonnie, who I know existed during FNaF 4, but rather to the spooky Springtrap we all know.**


	28. Accepted

The glowing, yellow eyes sharpened with anger.

Nightmare Freddy didn't know what was happening there, but he did not like it. Why were the Nightmares protecting that traitor? For the bear, it was as if the world had turned upside down. He gave a brief, sullen snarl at the Fredlet, much more commanding than the last one, but the only response he got was the little bear slightly flinching at the threatening order. The other two truly wanted to join the group, but they didn't dare. Nightmare Freddy's fury was burning like the raging fire, and the last thing his counterparts wanted to do was anger him more.

Nightmare Chica trilled deeply in an almost desperate attempt to calm down the bear. She knew a fight could emerge out of the fragile situation, and it would completely destroy Ryan's chances of gaining back his short-lasting trust. Nightmare Foxy was anything but ignoring the chicken. He saw, he felt how worried she was. She did care about the kid's safety, she did care about things being happy. The fox had been unsure about helping at first, but seeing such strength of will made him change his mind. He wanted to know what friendship truly was about, and he was sure he figured it out. He hadn't imagined it, but it was great to help someone. Nightmare Foxy thought that was the correct thing to do. Helping made him feel different. Knowing that he could make someone who cared about him glad made him happier than killing would've ever done.

Nightmare Freddy couldn't understand why the others were unable to see what he thought was the truth. He glanced at Nightmare Bonnie; he had been there, he heard everything, they both had mistaken Nightmare's words as true. They told each other how they agreed. Why was the rabbit's mind changed then? The bear growled when he realized Nightmare Bonnie had changed sides. The bear truly assumed he was the only one who was right, and it bothered him. He assumed everyone lost their minds, that they had chosen the wrong path.

However, the only one who was wrong there was him. He wouldn't accept it.

The Fredlet chirped kindheartedly, but Nightmare Freddy gave a waspish huff. He was disappointed at his fellow partners, and his patience was rapidly disappearing. Nightmare Bonnie's thoughts swam through confusion. What if Nightmare was telling the truth? …but what if he wasn't? The animatronic feared there wasn't a proper way to know. It was true that Ryan could hardly even dare to lie to the Nightmares, but everything was so tangled… The rabbit didn't know what to think anymore. Everyone seemed sure of what they were doing, Nightmare Freddy was as well. They were defending their own points, and it just complicated things much more.

After all, it was all the Nightmares against Nightmare Freddy. Unable to win against the confusion, Nightmare Bonnie took the decision to stay with the bigger group. He needed to find out what was really happening before jumping into trust. He just needed the bear to calm down, so the confusion would clear up. They all needed to agree on a single thing. A mess of thoughts was equal to a load of incertitude, and it wouldn't help at all.

Nightmare Bonnie gave his own, steady growl. Nightmare Freddy's left ear slightly moved up when it caught the deep, continuous rumble, making the yellow gaze move over to the rabbit. He as well? Did anything make sense anymore? Nightmare Freddy growled louder to let his increasing disappointment be seen, but Nightmare Bonnie wouldn't let go of his decision.

Even though he had everyone against him, even his little counterparts, the bear wouldn't let go of his decision either. He barked a brief, threatening roar, which was given back by Nightmare Foxy. Their glowing eyes narrowed at each other. Unintentionally, the fox was driving Nightmare Freddy into an unwanted fight. Nightmare Chica cawed shrilly at Nightmare Foxy to let him be aware of his actions. The fox didn't pay a lot of mind, but he somewhat softened his cold glare.

"Why can't you see he was lying?" came Ryan's sorrowed words. "Nothing he said is true." He looked down, as if pondering about what he was about to say. When he looked up, his blue eyes sparkled with confidence. "If I had to choose between dying and lying to you, I'd rather die."

The firmness he spoke with, and the overall sentence, caused Nightmare Freddy's eyes to widen. He, and the other Nightmares, were completely bewildered at what he said. Even Plushtrap and the Fredlets, though they had been expecting something like that from Ryan. Nightmare Bonnie looked down at him with a quiet, gentle rumble. He _meant_ what he said, and did not regret letting it out. He did care about them.

It was clear. He was the one who was telling the truth. That boy would never lie.

Nightmare Freddy suddenly found it difficult to be mad. He couldn't bring himself to attack after having heard that. Someone who'd rather lose their life before lying to something that had tried to kill him was not what a liar would say, not even in their worst nightmare. The bear wasn't pleased about having to accept a mistake, but he had to. He never expected something like that from the kid.

His lips formed a kind smile when Nightmare Freddy looked down, almost ashamed. He shouldn't have doubted about him. The Fredlets chirped happily, and Plushtrap couldn't help but join the joyful moment by giving a happy caw. Ryan sighed calmly. It could've ended horribly, but thanks to some help and a brave heart, the results were the best he could've gotten.

And from the darkness of the hall, Nightmare Fredbear watched everything. He couldn't be prouder. Despite being able to be friendly, he would've never thought the Nightmares were capable of protecting someone and reasoning with each other. Everything was changing for the better, and all thanks to a sudden bravery. Nightmare Fredbear silently thanked Ryan for having spoken some sense into the animatronics. All he could see now was a bright future. A great, maybe forbidden friendship was being forged. Nightmare wasn't something to worry about too much anymore; the animatronics would never believe him again, they wouldn't even _listen_ to him.

It was all going swimmingly well.

Perhaps… too swimmingly well. Some surprises turn out to be just around the corner.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I'm sorry for this stupidly short chapter. I've been like three days on the bed because my cold has gotten worse. Ugh ToT**

 **I promise no other chapter will be as short as this. It's not easy to write when you are feeling as bad as I am, but I felt like I needed to keep going. And I promise that next chapter will be so much longer!**

 **B4E Octavo – yep, she is. It's going to take a while tho, she's a slow drawer.**

 **Mia – there aren't any Nightmare Toy animatronics. Not yet, at least/no kawaii plushies here/don't wanna spoil the ending/and seriously, I love reading your stories :)**

 **Secret – I think I know how ^^**

 **Rock Raider/The hazel-eyed bookworm – no worries, it's not going too fast. Everything that happens here is planned, trust me ;) If anything, it feels rushed, but that's probably because of my lack of concentration lately.**

 **Blazeingheorine – yep.**


	29. Welcomed

The clock had chimed the next night when Ryan got back in the bedroom.

He had told his success to Nightmare Fredbear, despite him already knowing it. And even so, he listened thoroughly. He felt a flooding happiness, he could barely believe Ryan solved everything, even after how messed things were thanks to Nightmare's tricks. It seemed like only the truest, kindest words spoken by a gentle soul could win against the lies that came out of a merciless monster. Light always triumphed over darkness.

Ryan came to a short silence as he sat on the bed, Plushtrap always by his side. "So… what now?" he asked carefully. "Will everything be like this forever? Can… can something go wrong now?"

He asked it with such hope. If something went wrong, his heart would break into a million pieces. Nightmare Fredbear looked down as he searched for the answer. "They will not believe anything from Nightmare, from now on." he finally said. "But that does not mean our problems are solved. You must be careful now. The animatronics trust you, albeit not fully yet. You will have to show them that you truly care about them." He looked at the kid with a soft expression. "You don't want anything to happen to them."

Ryan slightly shook his head as he muttered, "I'd never want to." Nightmare Fredbear nodded approvingly. "Then, you must show it. If you are constantly with them, trying to help them on anything you can, they will see you as a true friend. If you show them friendship, they will show you respect and protection in exchange." Ryan smiled gently, and Plushtrap gave a content, quiet trill. They both wanted the Nightmares to be as friendly as they could. It would be great. Nothing would ever go wrong. Nightmare wouldn't dare to go against five angry animatronics, would he?

"Would you want to get started?"

The kid mused about the question. If he wanted the Nightmares to be the best friends anyone could ever wish for, he'd have to get started soon. He couldn't lose too much time. He nodded reliantly. "There is one thing I've always wanted to solve." The golden bear blinked before asking, "What is it?" He had a slight idea of what it could be, but decided to be fully sure by listening. "Bonnie and Chica are always fighting. But if I want to solve that, I'll need to know why they hate each other so much first."

Ending said Nightmares' rivalry was necessary. Each fight they had would distance them from the calmness required to befriend them. Getting them to stop fighting could be a great way to start. Ryan just hoped he didn't take too much time on it.

"I had a feeling you would want to stop that." Nightmare Fredbear said calmly. "It all started when this place was being created. Before you came here, we already existed. This dream started creating itself while you were unconscious." The kid listened thoroughly. Even Plushtrap was paying attention, and he wasn't one to listen to stories that didn't involve him. "The dream told the animatronics where they had to be, and what they had to do. However, both Bonnie and Chica were given the same location and purpose, while the other two had their own places and strategies. They were created to behave the same way, and that corrupted them."

"I see…" Ryan murmured in realization. It had always been that way, those two never had any kind of respect towards one another. All they had ever seen on each other was hate and contempt. "Do you think there's a way to stop their rivalry?"

Nightmare Fredbear stood thoughtful. "I'm afraid I cannot help you with that. If you want to help them, it is your responsibility to figure it out. Reasoning is a choice, and that is all I can tell you."

At least it was something. Reasoning had worked so far, but Ryan didn't know what exactly to tell them; he'd have to think of something else as well. Reasoning alone wasn't likely to work. He was dealing with a rivalry that lasted for too much time, and thus it had grown stronger. He knew that Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica still could tolerate each other, though. He remembered how they exchanged saddened looks the first time he tried to talk to them. He could use that as an advantage.

"I'll see what I can do." the kid finally said. "But I need to think about it for a bit."

"Take your time on this, Ryan." the bear told him calmly. "But do not wait too much. Hate only grows stronger."

Ryan nodded in understanding.

* * *

Later on, he and Plushtrap stayed at the plushie's hallway. The boy had sat against the wall, the plush toy next to him, as he pondered about the situation. He had to think of something that'd work with the bickering animatronics. And he had to think thoroughly. Any mistake could be irreparable. It was very delicate, and Ryan was fully aware he couldn't just jump into action without having more than one thing planned out. He sighed. "I hope this works. I wouldn't want things to mess up again." Plushtrap chirped in agreement. The kid closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. All that was left of the terrible storm was a peaceful drizzle, a great way to help the smart thoughts come out.

But the silence was briefly interrupted by something… rather unusual.

"Hello."

Ryan's eyes flew open at the deep voice that sounded way too close to him. He looked around him with alarmed eyes, but there was nothing. Plushtrap did the same, but none of them caught glimpse of anything or anyone, only the four doorways and the lonely chair. "Y-you heard that as well, right?" the boy feared he was going crazy for having heard another kid's voice, but when Plushtrap nodded hurriedly, he realized someone _did_ talk there. Ryan stood up and cautiously observed the dark end of the hall. He doubted it had been any of the Nightmares. None of them could talk, and much less have such a childish voice. What was the source of the noise then?

As the kid tried to find something among the darkness, the bunny had the strange feeling of being observed. He quavered softly, looking over his shoulders.

He gave a piping, brief caw as it jumped back, causing Ryan to turn around immediately as the plushie dashed by his side, momentarily hiding behind him, shaken by the scare he had been given. The boy looked at him with a confused look – that turned into a wide-eyed expression when he looked at front.

Words flew away from him as he stared speechless at what stood before them, staring at them almost innocently.

It was a new Nightmare animatronic.

Or at least it looked like so, judging by the sharp teeth forming a wide grin on its face. It wasn't any large, downright terrifying animatronic like the rest were, though. It was merely an all-too-colorful small humanoid barely the size of Ryan. It was shiny, and not a single tear or gash wandered across its rounded body. The only truly terrifying things about it were those skeletal, razor-sharp fingers, and the permanent grin etched on its face.

Where did it come from? What was it? Ryan couldn't find better questions, and the answers were nonexistent. He had never seen that animatronic before. Why was it there? He was at a complete loss of words, and one could say the same about Plushtrap, who only looked with curious eyes at the new humanoid animatronic who didn't move its red eyes with glowing pupils away from them. It looked at them as if they were aliens of some kind.

Plushtrap tilted its head very lightly when it realized that the so curious animatronic was standing on the X. The bunny narrowed his eyes; new or not, that thing was in his zone, and without permission. He couldn't do anything against Nightmare Foxy since he was large and dangerous, but Plushtrap didn't fear the robotic kid so much. Plus, there wasn't such a huge size difference between them. He would defend his little zone.

The plushie uttered a warning caw, but the humanoid only tilted its head. Plushtrap gave a little growl before launching another warning, louder, but there was still no movement coming from the robotic kid. Ryan still couldn't bring himself to say anything. He couldn't _understand_ anything. He hadn't seen that thing anywhere, it made no sense for it to suddenly be there.

It took him a few seconds to realize something.

Plushtrap, growing tired from the lack of attention he was getting, kept cawing and barking at the humanoid to move, but it just looked at him with a confused expression. Did it not understand the angered plushie? The Nightmares were supposed to understand each other, but the colorful newcomer was an exception to that. It had no idea what Plushtrap was trying to tell it, otherwise it would've moved, or answered somehow.

"Quit it." Ryan hushed Plushtrap, who did as told unwillingly. He didn't want any unwanted guest on his 'territory'. "He doesn't understand you." Much to his surprise, the grinning humanoid shook his head. Blue eyes widened a bit. "But… you understand me?" He nodded.

It was great that he could understand human speech. The Nightmares could as well, but they didn't know the significance of many words, thus making it somewhat difficult to communicate with them.

The only downside was that he couldn't speak many words.

"So what are you doing here?" Ryan asked, but only got an innocent head tilt from the humanoid. His immensely limited vocabulary wouldn't let him answer that question, and he didn't know how to communicate through signs and noises like Plushtrap. It wasn't like the question had an answer anyways.

It was confusing. Ryan was sure that was the one who spoke earlier, so why wasn't he speaking anymore? He needed some help.

"Alright, we have to tell this to Fredbear. Maybe he knows something."

* * *

"It makes no sense."

Everyone was reunited at the salon. The Nightmares watched with cautious eyes their new member. He was just so different from them, he must've felt like a weirdo among all those vicious-looking animatronics. So shiny, so small, so un-broken. He almost seemed like he didn't really belong there.

He was currently walking around the salon, observing the place. There was no doubt he just 'came' there, as he seemed really curious about his surroundings. All the while, Plushtrap kept a death glare on him. The plush bunny felt ridiculous – even that poor excuse for a Nightmare animatronic was far deadlier than him! Plushtrap felt not only ridiculous, but completely useless for a moment. Why was he so… non-menacing? He wanted to be like a true Nightmare, but his situation had no remediation. If three small bears and a nightmarish kid could be scary and be more armed than him, there was just no hope for him. He would stay as Plushtrap the Useless-Small-Non-Nightmare-Animatronic forever, it seemed.

"And he just appeared there?" Nightmare Fredbear asked, receiving a nod from Ryan. "It's weird, I've never seen something like this before." The bear watched the humanoid walk around. "Some things tend to lack answers." The kid looked up at him in wonder. "If you have never seen this animatronic before, it has no reasons to be among us. It is possible that this will forever remain a mystery."

Ryan wasn't precisely content with that, but it was the truth. At least the newcomer wasn't hostile, and that was good. He just hoped no one else would come. The last thing he needed was more animatronics to deal with, friendly or not. "Well, then I guess we have one more family member now." he sighed.

The Nightmares were unsure as to whether treat that humanoid as one of them or not. Plushtrap wanted them not to; at least he would no longer be the only one who was rejected by the group. The animatronics just didn't think it was right to call a colorful kid with rosy cheeks and an infantile propeller hat a Nightmare. It was weird more than anything.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well, as I promised, here's the longer chapter ^^ The hype has cured me, hallelujah! I adore the new Nightmares from the Hallo update, even BB. I can barely wait to bring Mango and Nightmarionne :P (yes, I typed Mango on purpose)**

 **Luna Best Pony – I'll discontinue this story when pigs fly. As much as I don't like giving out spoilers, I have to say... maybe ;)**

 **Devon – I'm always open to ideas, and I always appreciate anything you guys suggest. You've got very sweet ideas :)**

 **Mia – correct genders indeed/Nightmare is our little jerk, love won't work on him/To be honest, I don't believe in the Bite of '83 theory, so this is happening in 1987/ Annoying Orange? Eh, I never liked it that much/Well, there you go, the first newbie ;) The Jack-o's won't appear tho.**


	30. Mangled

Plushtrap kept looking at the newcomer with an unusual dry glare.

Ryan couldn't help but notice this as he thought of all the possible reasons of why that animatronic was suddenly there; he didn't come across a single possible answer. It bothered him more than anything.

He was sure he was skipping something important, it wasn't normal for Plushtrap to look at someone with almost hatred. The kid doubted it was about the humanoid being on the hallway without the bunny's permission; then, he'd also be looking at Nightmare Foxy the same way since he had committed the same crime. Ryan's eyes briefly wandered across the contemplating Nightmares, who were still wondering just why that little animatronic was so dissimilar despite being one of them, and that was when he remembered it.

Nightmare Fredbear had said Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica despised each other because they were created to behave the same way. Ryan had found the colorful humanoid in Plushtrap's hallway. What if he was supposed to behave the same way as the plush toy?

That'd mean they were supposed to hate each other, immediately or eventually. The robotic kid didn't seem to hold hard feelings towards Plushtrap yet, but the bunny was the clear opposite.

Ryan's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost, and out of dismay he murmured, "Oh the mess we're about to get in…" He glanced over at Plushtrap. The wandering humanoid had stopped when he noticed the look of absolute dry hate he was getting, but he looked at the plushie with innocent eyes. If hate was going to grow between them, it was better to stop it before they became the new rabbit and chicken.

Nightmare Fredbear had noticed the increasing worry on the blue eyes, and with a faint alarmed tone asked, "Is something wrong?" The boy kept his gaze fixed on the scowling plushie just in case he decided to snap before looking back at the bear. " _Very_ wrong, yes." he replied hurriedly. Scarlet orbs widened slightly at the preoccupation on the kid's voice as he walked over to Plushtrap.

"You," He pointed at the humanoid. Ryan briefly eyed the plushie that had been startled by his sudden voice, before asking, "Are you supposed to be at the hallway?" The robotic kid tilted his head a bit and nodded. Plushtrap felt insulted; he cared deeply about protecting what was his and everyone know it, even though none of the Nightmares took it seriously, and that red-purple-blue rainbow just nodded as if occupying his spot was something as easy as blinking? It was even less acceptable than someone waking him up for no reason.

Ryan wanted to curse after seeing the nod, and he could feel Plushtrap's anger growing. No one (that was smaller or the same size as him, of course) was allowed to take his spot. He wouldn't tolerate it, and shot an angry screech to make clear that the hallway was his and no one else's. Ryan flinched at the piping bark sounding too close to him, and turned around sharply. "No you don't." he almost growled, gaining a scowl from Plushtrap, who chirped bitterly. "Don't come up with that, you are going to ruin everything by being angry for no reason!"

If he could talk, the plush toy would've repeated "for no reason" with a mad, indignant yell. Plushtrap had his reasons to immediately hate that newcomer who freely thought the hall belonged to him. He didn't care if he had just arrived, he wouldn't let that young clown think he could hang around at his hallway whenever he pleased. Maybe he was supposed to be there, but it already had an owner and certain plushie wouldn't tolerate another inhabitant.

Plushtrap gave a loud hiss to let his irritation be seen. He had a point, but Ryan wasn't going to take that as a reason to cause a mess hard to fix. He lowered his voice, and told the plushie almost nervously, "Listen, I'll make sure he doesn't go to your _beloved_ ," The way he put emphasis on the word annoyed Plushtrap, and the kid knew it. Sometimes, irking the bunny was a way to make him forget pervious conflicts and calm him down. "hallway, alright?" Plushtrap looked away, thoughtful. "I promise." He rolled his eyes, and Ryan knew that was his way to show that he accepted something when he didn't really want to, causing him to show a crooked smile. "I knew you'd understand."

Nightmare Fredbear was surprised at the kid handling the situation so well. If two or more Nightmares collided into doing the same thing, chaos would take over if it wasn't treated rapidly and carefully. Ryan had just stopped the humanoid and Plushtrap from constantly fighting in a way where they'd possibly never get into a dangerous conflict – he was sure they would, maybe, not like each other so much, but that would be temporary. Ryan and Plushtrap didn't get a good start either, and now they were soul mates.

The Nightmares were also taken aback by how firm and secure he was when calming down Plushtrap and stopping the increasing hate. It was admirable, and out of everyone, Nightmare Foxy seemed the most curious about it. Another friendship lesson learned: friends always try to stay happy, no matter what. A friend knows their pal's problems, and will always be there to solve them. Ryan was a good friend.

The boy looked back at the colorful humanoid. He was still observing with those big, cartoonish eyes. Despite them being blood red in color, they beamed innocence and childishness. It was certainly hard to be afraid of him, despite all those razor sharp teeth and claws he sported. Ryan crossed his arms. "Now that I'm on it, we don't even know your name." He made a short pause. "That is, if you have one…" He frowned questioningly. "Do you?"

It was quite a surprise that the robotic kid nodded. "Really? What is it?" The humanoid hated himself for barely being able to speak. He couldn't even say his own name, how was he supposed to let them know? When the animatronic lowered his red gaze slightly, Ryan knew something was wrong. He thought about how he heard him say "hello", and wondered if he could say anything else than that. "How many things can you say?"

The humanoid looked up at him, almost as if he had been waiting that question to be asked. He replied with a deep, "Hi."

"So that's all?" Ryan asked, rather disappointed. He had someone who understood every single word he said, but couldn't really hold a conversation at all. Not even voice a simple, single sentence. He'd have to figure out a way to communicate with him. It should be easy to teach him more words. He could speak clearly after all, and understood the meanings of the different words.

The colorful animatronic nodded slowly. It was clear he felt somewhat embarrassed for being able to speak literally only two useless words that, all in all, meant the exact same thing. "Yeah, we'll need to work on that…" Ryan muttered, for himself more than anything, slightly averting his gaze. He looked back up as he said, "But well, you do have a name. I guess we'll have to figure it out somehow."

He thought of possible ways of knowing it. Ryan wished the humanoid could communicate through growls. That way, he'd only have to say his name in the Nightmares' language, and Nightmare Fredbear could translate it. Perhaps, trying to guess it by saying random words that fitted with the humanoid's overall appearance could be a way of doing so. The Nightmares' names matched with the animals they represented, Freddy and Plushtrap being the only exceptions. The small animatronic resembled a little boy, maybe his name had the word 'boy' on it. Somehow. Even easier, Ryan would've liked his name to be plainly Boy. It'd be easier than trying to guess a longer name.

"This is a weird guess and I'm probably not right," He hoped he was right. "Does your name have the word 'boy' somewhere?" The red eyes widened, and the robotic kid nodded happily. "Wow, really?" Ryan thought it was kind of a feat to have guessed part of the name on his first try. "Great, moving on. What other word could it be…?"

Even if he hadn't done it before and thus had no experience on it, the humanoid had to try using signs to help Ryan, otherwise it would be impossible for him to guess the rest of his name. It wasn't complicated, it was just a word that wouldn't go through his mind.

His attention was caught when the animatronic kid moved his curled hand up to his chest. One of his fingers made a circular motion through it, right around the two black buttons that adorned it; there was a very low raking noise as the action was done. Ryan immediately stood thoughtful, he knew the action meant either the shape or an object. He was at first going to try saying "buttons", but he thought better about it. The humanoid would've pointed at one of the buttons instead. "Round, rounded, circle…" he started trying. "…ball-" He stopped when the red eyes widened, and he realized he was on the right way. But he hadn't guessed the full word, as told by the expression on the humanoid's grinning face. Ryan thought of words starting with ball, and only one came to his mind. He frowned as he slowly said, "Balloon…?" He hesitated because it wasn't something obvious at all, but the animatronic nodded happily.

"Balloon Boy? Is that it? Well, that was easier than I thought." An idea then came to him like a dart to a dartboard. "It's a bit long… we could try to make it shorter. Something like… BB."

BB tilted his head at the name, and his permanent smile really seemed to have widened. He liked it. It was short, simple and easy to remember. Plus, it really fitted with him - innocent and childish. BB wasn't precisely a name one would put to something that could kill you in the blink of an eye, but it wasn't like the humanoid was hostile anyways.

"So BB it is." Ryan said reliantly. He also liked the name. The Nightmares made some sort of frown. It was a weird name, but they wouldn't judge. His name wasn't their problem, nor would it bother them.

* * *

Since the animatronics wanted, and needed, some time for their own, Ryan, Plushtrap and BB went back to the bedroom. The kid was sure they would try to agree on a single thing, there had been too much confusion going around them, and they didn't like thinking different things. Ryan was unsure about leaving them discuss their things, fearing that Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica could get into a fight for not being able to agree with each other, but Nightmare Fredbear had promised to keep an eye on them.

"I wish you could talk." the boy told BB almost sadly. "There are so many things I'd want to know about you. I just don't get why you're here so suddenly." He was sure BB had no idea either, because he gave a slight frown. Some things just didn't have an answer, and they must be left to slip away until they were forgotten.

Plushtrap still had that dry look on his face, though it was softer. The dream still controlled some of the Nightmares' feelings, and it seemed like it still kept the 'error' of the animatronics hating each other if they were locked into the same thing. Plushtrap couldn't help the distant anger.

BB eyed the bedroom inquisitively. He was content with that place, though he'd like it more if it was a bit… happier. The house was sad, there was no denying that, and his cheerful appearance made him feel like something completely out of place.

Plushtrap's right ear flapped slightly when he stopped abruptly, and started looking around cautiously. Ryan glanced at him. "What's wrong?" The plushie started growling when his gaze came across the closet. The kid could've sworn the doors were more closed than before, even if he didn't pay much attention to them.

Worry appeared. It couldn't be Nightmare Foxy hiding there, they saw him with the rest of Nightmares. Nightmare Fredbear couldn't either as he was also observing and making sure everything was in order. There was only one animatronic left that ever wandered into the closet, and Ryan swallowed when he realized it. Could Nightmare be waiting for them? The two friends looked at each other in search for comfort. It couldn't be anyone else, could it?

BB glanced at them with confusion filling him. He didn't know who Nightmare was yet, and thus didn't know why fear started consuming the kid. All their gazes were planted on the closet. Someone had to open it sooner or later, the results would be the same. If it was Nightmare who was hiding there, leaving wouldn't be an option; he'd follow.

Ryan finally armed himself with courage and took slow, hesitant steps towards the shuttered doors. He knew he'd regret the action. Plushtrap stood near him, still uttering the low growl. BB kept his position, gaining some fear as well. The kid's hand merely just touched the door to slide it open when a bright, golden orb let itself be seen.

He wasn't left a second to wonder what it could've been before a jaw snapped right at his face.

All the Nightmares looked up simultaneously after hearing Ryan's scream and a terrifying snap followed by clanging; Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare Chica were the most worried of the group. The Fredlets gave their own screeches after realizing their friend had trouble. The golden bear's eyes became filled with preoccupation. His only thought was that Nightmare had come back, or perhaps it could even be BB having turned to his dark side. Whatever had happened, it was bad.

Nightmare Fredbear gave a stern snarl so the rest would follow. If it was an attack from Nightmare, it was better to have reinforcement.

Ryan was sure he heard his heart voicing a joyful scream when he saw the Nightmares coming to his rescue. He had stumbled back to the right door; Plushtrap and BB stood before him, restraining the _thing_ that had emerged from the closet away from him. Nightmare Fredbear was the first to enter the bedroom, giving a brief yet thunderous growl to make whatever had attacked back away immediately.

He froze at what he saw, and so did the rest as they caught glimpse of the mess of torn wires and metal.

What was there couldn't even be considered an animatronic. The only recognizable parts of it were an out of place hand and a white-pink head full of sharp teeth screaming for blood. The remaining golden eye was stained with unadulterated malice as it kept itself fixed on the kid only. Nightmare Fredbear shook the confusion away; that thing was too aggressive to be reasoned with, and the only thing it wanted was Ryan dead. There was no time to lose. He uttered a commanding bellow to draw the entangled mess of wires' attention away, and it appeared to have worked.

Terrifyingly enough, the thing literally had two heads with only one eye each, and the two malicious orbs looked up at Nightmare Fredbear before the mangled animatronic slightly rose to its full height. The bear barely paid attention at how the destroyed fox had three legs.

They had waited for a thunderous roar full of anger, but it didn't come as anything close to that. Instead, a garbled, static-like screech drilled the Nightmares' sensitive hearing. Ryan covered his ears at the piercing shriek, and Plushtrap and BB flinched back.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I've been really inspired on this chapter, I didn't even realize it was so long. Important note: Mangle is going to be a girl in this just because I think it's a girl. No arguments – if you think it's a boy, imagine the shes as hes on later chapters.**

 **Rock Raider – I never really considered bringing the Jack-o versions. They're the same after all. But I'm curious about your idea, I wouldn't mind taking a look at it.**

 **Luna Best Pony – you really flattered me there :3**

 **Devon – your ideas are sincerely fantastic. You can be sure some of them will be used on later chapters in one way or another.**

 **Secret – well, Halloween is already behind us, so probably not.**

 **Mia – that was really cute :3 Mangle's gonna have a bit of a temper tho.**


	31. Frightened

Scarlet eyes and golden ones stared at each other fiercely.

Despite looking like it could fall apart anytime, that mangled thing did not look like it was going to just back down. Neither Nightmare Fredbear nor the Nightmares deemed a showdown necessary with that mess of metal; perhaps some angry roars could scare it away. Such tangled, fragile-looking creature wasn't precisely one to fear losing a battle against. By looks, BB or even the Fredlets could take on that thing, though they seemed too frightened to directly go against it.

Plushtrap wouldn't be able to stand against it, however. He lacked the necessary weaponry to fight the contorted fox; BB had sharper teeth than him, plus with the claws he lacked, while the Fredlets had number by their side and a much larger bear that would assist them whenever they needed him. Plushtrap fighting that thing was crazy, and he, regretfully, was aware of it.

Ryan had started to notice something strange among the scene, but he couldn't tell exactly what. What his eyes saw was a very angry, tangled fox trying to kill him, but he couldn't stop feeling like there was a hidden reason to the sudden aggression. His heart was racing and his thoughts had dissipated, but he tried to concentrate. He just knew something didn't fit. He had learnt to understand the Nightmares' emotions. He had seem the burning hatred and malevolence on their eyes when they almost kill him – and while he did see hatred on that glowing, bright golden eye, it didn't highlight as much as it should considering how infuriated it was.

Nightmare Fredbear gave a constant growl. If that thing wanted to harm Ryan, it'd have to go through him and the others. It didn't look like it was going to attack, it was rather considering if to keep going or not. It was dangerous for it. After all, they were five angry, large creatures, while it was a completely entangled mess of metal that could barely move and couldn't even growl back. Not too menacing or challenging in a Nightmare's point of view.

Instead of growling, it uttered a lower garble to make clear it wouldn't just back down. It had lost its voice, yes, but that didn't mean it was any less threatening; its first 'roar' almost left the Nightmares deaf. They had an acute hearing, and such loud screech hurt them like if the fox itself had mauled them. It could hurt with its completely messed voice, and that was enough to let them see it was a threat, though not to be taken with as much seriousness as it would if the attacker was Nightmare.

All the while, Nightmare Foxy had been rather shocked; not because the new animatronic was a fox like him, but because they were identical. Their heads had the same shape, even the same tears and eye color, and their muzzles were both half-ripped. It was as if they had taken his head, re-colored it, and put it on a torn up body. Nightmare Foxy was confused by that, but he was even more confused when he felt a burning anger crowd around him. Why was he suddenly feeling like he had to maul something or someone?

Confusion wasn't something the Nightmares were used to. It bothered them because they didn't understand that feeling yet. And if the Nightmares couldn't understand something, they became aggressive because they didn't know what was happening.

The crimson fox let out a snort. Ryan briefly glanced at him; he knew he was starting to become unstable, he could see it. He calmed himself down when he noticed the fear coming back. Few things were worse than a confused Nightmare that sensed fear. Ryan would have to figure out what was happening after the threat was dealt with.

The mangled fox gave another garbled screech, not as loud as the first one, as if telling the Nightmares to back away. Now the kid was truly sure something wasn't right. When Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica fought, they first growled at each other trying to intimidate their rival before fighting, but the fox wasn't trying to intimidate them to appear stronger or fiercer, or drag them into a battle by mocking them; it was just trying to make them back away, and nothing else.

Ryan could see the hint of worry on its eyes. It didn't seem to _want_ a fight. The whole conflict almost seemed to be one-sided.

And then he understood it.

The torn-up fox was just defending itself.

It suddenly made sense. It thought Ryan was going to hurt it, that was why it attacked. It was left no choice other than defending itself without fighting when the other Nightmares appeared. It wasn't looking for a fight, it was trying to make everyone leave it alone. It didn't like Ryan, that was for sure, but it wasn't there to cause trouble. That thing was probably more afraid of the kid than he was of it.

He knew he had to do something, he was starting to hear the Nightmares utter their own growls at seeing that the troublemaker wasn't showing signs of leaving or giving up. Ryan immediately rushed in front of the animatronics, shooting a commanding, " _Stop."_ as he put a hand before him. The animatronics startled at the firm tone, and transformed their vibrating growls into quiet rumbles. Nightmare Fredbear partially tilted his head with uncertainty. "What are you doing?" was all he could ask, and he sounded somewhat angry. That thing had tried to kill him, why didn't he want their protection?

"It doesn't want to fight." Ryan said as he turned to face the mangled fox. It seemed to have slightly calmed down, but it was still wary. It didn't trust anyone, all it saw before its mismatched eyes were threats. Nightmare Fredbear didn't believe that at first – he knew when a Nightmare was being hostile, but he didn't know when one was being hostile due to fear. "It's defending itself, there's no need to cause trouble." the kid said softly, trying to look as innocent as possible as he glanced at the white fox. Its gaze looked towards him, and it let out a warning garble as Ryan took a cautious step towards it.

"Hey, it's okay…" he muttered calmly. He was glad to not hear anything from the Nightmares, it'd just make everything dangerous. Growls meant a menace, and if the heavily torn-up animatronic felt menaced, it'd attack without thinking twice. "No one's going to hurt you…" The fox didn't quite believe his honest words. It snapped threateningly at the air when Ryan got closer, merely backing away after the warning; its limbs creaked when it moved rather suddenly. The kid heard a brief growl come from one or two of the animatronics standing behind him, but they silenced quickly at the lack of hostility. The mangled fox didn't feel so attacked, but it wouldn't let its guard drop down. "Please, believe me, none of us want to hurt you."

He heard Plushtrap whisper a disagreeing chitter; that thing had given him a huge scare. He didn't like anything that scared him, and he would've tried to show off if the Nightmares hadn't come.

The fox garbled again. Ryan's words weren't taking the desired effect. It wouldn't believe just anything, and that was when the boy realized he'd need time with that one. He'd leave trying to find out what it was for later. Ryan turned to look at the Nightmares. "It's fine." Nightmare Foxy snorted at the plain words as Nightmare Chica slightly tilted her head. The other two didn't seem too worried about anything, for them it wasn't such a big deal. Just a mess of metal that had been scared, that was all.

Nightmare Fredbear directed them a quiet rumble to make Ryan's words even clearer. That thing wasn't something to pay attention to. Nightmare Bonnie was seemingly annoyed at having had to interrupt his many thoughts for a troublesome newcomer, as so were the others, but the rabbit was more than anyone. He huffed as he turned to leave, Nightmare Chica trilling at him bitterly as he went down the hall with Nightmare Freddy leaving after her. Nightmare Foxy took a step back, about to follow, but he kept a menacing glare on his apparently new counterpart.

No doubt, those two were supposed to hate each other. The fox uttered a hoarse growl before leaving, nothing more but thudding steps behind him were left. BB looked in the direction of the obscure hallway with a small head tilt. He didn't understand all that anger and disappointment around the Nightmares, though he, fortunately, wasn't taking confusion as bad as any other Nightmare would. It simply bothered him to not understand what happened, it didn't anger him.

Ryan looked back at the fox after everyone left, a slight frown on his face. "Look, I'm sorry for whatever I've done." He knew he had scared it, but he didn't know why it seemed so afraid yet so aggressive towards him. That thing was weird in all senses. "I promise I won't bother you." It garbled something resembling a snort before turning towards the closet. Its golden gaze bore into the kid as the fox lumbered back into the closet with several creaks and light clang noises coming from its torn-up body.

Ryan knew that, as long as he didn't bother it, it wouldn't attack him.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **A bit of a short chapter had to happen, eh.**

 **I still can't believe how many reviews last chapter got. I wuv you guys ^^**

 **The hazel-eyed bookworm – Nightmare is pretty manipulative, it'll be shown in later chapters.**

 **Jasonvsmichael132 – I didn't quite understand that?/not a couple or brother-sister relation, more like cranky friends. Nightmarionne will be a boy, but I won't say anything else about him.**

 **Rock Raider – that's actually a nice concept I've never thought of. Who knows, maybe I can bring it in. Depends on how it goes.**

 **wes27 – more than strange I find it disappointing. I really liked the Toy models ;-; Since they aren't in the game, I won't bring them in.**

 **MidnightMorhper – don't worry, Mangle just has a bit of a temper.**

 **Devon – your ideas are always fantastic. Y'know, some of them gave me plenty of inspiration for future chapters.**

 **Plushtrapisboss – that won't happen, and yes, Plushtrap will learn to speak soon.**

 **Guest – that was adorable :3**

 **Mia – nah, I don't really plan on bringing pairings here/that's an interesting concept, but more than the dark side of Ryan, Nightmare is the dark side of Fredbear.**

 **Guest – I'm scared now. Can you read minds? ;)**

 **alw150 – indeed, and yes.**

 **Mitsuki Shigamatsu – Nightmarionne won't talk.**


	32. Illuminated

Ryan couldn't get his eyes off the closet.

He knew that the mangled animatronic needed help. They shared the same feeling, and the kid wouldn't let it be afraid of everything like he used to be. There had to be something he could do, but he couldn't trail off from his plans. Everything was accumulating, he couldn't work on more than one thing at a time with ease. The fox was going to certainly be a problem; not because he had no idea of how to show it that it wasn't in danger, but because he understood that Nightmare Foxy and it weren't going to have a good start since they were also behaving the same way, and that was bad. Both of them were pretty cranky and hostile towards anything they didn't like.

It was better to first calm down Nightmare Foxy, but the question was: how to exactly do that. He had a very short temper and wasn't so close to fully trusting Ryan yet. He mostly wanted to know what was happening with all that friendship, then he'd judge if to remain ill-tempered or become stable. At least, his heavily broken counterpart wouldn't attack just because it felt like it needed to. That thing was too afraid of the Nightmares to actually fight against them; its max would be to face them only if absolutely necessary, like it had happened before.

That was somewhat helpful, that way Ryan would only have to keep Nightmare Foxy away from the bedroom. It was doubtful that the white fox would ever leave the closet unless another disturbance came around. It felt safe there, and it already gave Ryan, BB and Plushtrap a warning to stay away. They weren't allowed to go near the shuttered doors unless it gave them permission, and that was certainly not going to happen until trust and kindness were shown to it on their full strength.

It wasn't easy for the kid to find something for the torn-up fox to see the affection within him and the others. He'd need help on that, the tricks he used with the other Nightmares wouldn't work. That time, it was the animatronic who feared Ryan, not the other way around. Showing bravery was completely useless with that one. He let out a small sigh as he sat on the bed and looked at Nightmare Fredbear. He looked somewhat puzzled as he stared at the closet as well. "What should I do?" Ryan asked, his blue gaze never leaving the closet. He briefly glanced at the flashlight next to him to make sure it wasn't pointing directly at the closet, trying not to bother the frightened newcomer.

The golden bear barely looked at him as he replied, "I have no way of knowing so. This will not be easy, none of us has ever been afraid of anything. You may have to be patient now."

Ryan knew he couldn't go talk to the frightened animatronic just like that, and it was likely that it wouldn't come out of the closet to see what was going on. He wanted to help it, he didn't like seeing something like that. Being afraid of everything was something Ryan wouldn't wish on anyone. He couldn't keep a saddened sigh from escaping, and Plushtrap chittered fondly. He understood that the new animatronic needed help and that Ryan wouldn't be content until the problem was solved; he'd make an exception and try to help it as well, despite how much he wanted to give it what it deserved for scaring the life out of him.

BB looked at them before glancing back at the white doors with a quick blink. He couldn't understand why that mangled thing was so afraid of them. They wouldn't hurt it, since they had no reasons to do so. It should've realized it, but it didn't show signs of letting itself be seen. The humanoid was disappointed by that. He didn't like sadness, and almost against the Nightmares' nature, he didn't like fear either.

"Maybe we just need to give her some time…" Nightmare Fredbear gave a slight frown at the sudden, implied gender, but didn't say anything about it. "I think she just needs to know that we are all good here, then she'll come out." It could be a choice, but the bear wasn't so sure about it. The Nightmares became unstable around certain emotions. If the white fox never realized the kindness among the place and kept being scared by anything, she could fly off the handle and be impossible to calm down. Excessive fear could drive one to insanity.

Suddenly, Ryan remembered something that brought some insecurity upon him. "But… weren't you supposed to make sure the others don't start a fight?"

Nightmare Fredbear looked at the open door that revealed nothing but darkness. "They are fine. Trust me."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the salon, the Nightmares were still trying to arrive at a solid point. The golden bear had ordered them to not cause a mess when he told them that the white fox wasn't a threat. He had faith in them, enough to leave them discuss alone, and they wouldn't disobey an order that had trust written all over it.

Nightmare Chica knew she was the only one who was actually _thinking_ about it all; it made her feel special. The others were trying to plainly understand the situation, not thinking about what it meant and what would happen in the near future. She gave a huff when she realized how mindless the rest were being. Nightmare Foxy was away from the conversation, pacing around from left to right like a vicious, caged wolf, murmuring a ceaseless and thoughtful rumble. His head looked down, and he seemed to have forgotten about what surrounded him. He was in his own world. He wanted to know what was happening. When he made eye contact with his counterpart, he knew something was wrong. He just didn't get why fury was increasing upon him like a raging wildfire being awoken after golden eyes met. It was weird, and he wanted, _needed_ an explanation.

He couldn't handle his confusion, and the Nightmares noticed it. Nightmare Chica gave a quiet, deep trill, but the fox only responded with a hoarse growl. He wasn't in the mood to talk. The chicken wouldn't try any further, she knew how stubborn he was. It was the same as talking to a wall.

And while she didn't mind the lack of attention, Nightmare Freddy was bothered by it. He was also a leader, but didn't have as much authority as Nightmare Fredbear. He was still close to a second in command, and the Nightmares respected him – all of them except certain grumpy fox. Nightmare Foxy was his own leader, and he'd only listen to anyone who was stronger than him and kept a firm position. He respected Nightmare Fredbear, but he didn't consider Nightmare Freddy so much of a leader.

The bear gave a low growl to get him to look up; the fox merely stopped for a moment to glare at him before keeping his pace. Nightmare Freddy's eyes narrowed, he demanded attention. He never wanted to boss around his fellow Nightmares, but it was necessary that time. Nightmare Foxy had to pay attention to his superiors, no matter what he considered them to be. The animatronics needed someone who made sure they behaved properly, because without someone to listen to, they'd become even more unstable than they already were. They couldn't always make their own decisions, someone had to tell them how to act in certain situations.

Nightmare Freddy uttered a louder growl to make the fox stop and look at him for once. He did, but his golden gaze showed nothing more but irritation. He knew the bear was superior to him, but he didn't treat him as such, and probably would never do so. He was also a spitfire, much like Nightmare Bonnie. The only difference between them was that the rabbit knew when to stop being stupid and pay attention to those wanting it. He respected his two leaders, and would never go against them unless their decision was downright crazy.

The fox knew a scolding was coming to him, and he already learned to fake being listening.

Nightmare Freddy had already given him that glaring scowl that indicated the beginning of his anger towards the disrespect. The fox's ears suddenly moved up as he caught glimpse of something strange behind the bear, and had to tilt his head at the new sighting. It was a light. A yellow, small light that floated around as if it was alive. Nightmare Foxy made a soft sound to point at the wandering light, and Nightmare Freddy turned around with curiosity as so did the others.

For them, it was magic.

For anyone else, it was a firefly.

The glowing bug fluttered past Nightmare Freddy, who looked at it wide-eyed. The Fredlets chirped inquisitively, they thought the creature was beautiful and just unnatural, they wanted to know more about it, to follow it around everywhere. They had never seen a bug, much less one with a light. The firefly fled over Nightmare Bonnie's muzzle as he eyed it intently before pausing to hover right over Nightmare Chica's beak; she was quick to puff it away. It was such a magic creature in her point of view, and she admired its beauty.

That was one light they did like.

It fluttered past Nightmare Foxy, who followed the small insect with his head. His confusion and anger had dissipated and curiosity took over him, blowing the angry storm clouds that floated around him away. The Nightmares watched the shiny bug slowly fly through the hall.

It had been such a magic moment for them, and they almost forgot what they were talking about.

* * *

Ryan glanced at the door, and did a double take when he noticed the small light fluttering past it and start hovering around above Plushtrap's head; the plush toy almost jumped when he heard the little noise of the insect's wings, and looked up to watch the small creature fly about. The kid had a hard time believing what his eyes showed him. Was that really a firefly? He had always loved those luminescent bugs, and he thought he'd never see one again. The firefly brought nostalgia upon him.

He still remembered how he and his brother would go to a small pond at night when they were younger, and watch the fireflies fly around it as they created a beautiful sight of bright lights hovering above the calm water. That was the first time he saw those insects, and he had loved them straight away.

He didn't even question how the firefly even got there when it fluttered in front of him. Plushtrap and BB were absolutely amazed by the floating light, and they also thought it was magic. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Ryan said aloud as he watched the firefly fly towards Nightmare Fredbear. He merely tilted his head when the bug got close, it really looked as if it was greeting everyone around the house.

"What is it?" the bear asked as the insect flew almost happily through the bedroom, hovering around close to Plushtrap and BB. Ryan was somewhat afraid they'd snap at it for bothering them; he didn't want the little bug to die, but it appeared to be safe. The two curious animatronics didn't want to kill it, it would ruin the magic. They liked seeing it produce light, and had no reasons to take its small life. Pretty, harmless things didn't deserve death.

The kid smiled gently. "It's called a firefly." He realized none of the Nightmares had ever seen a bug, or any other living being that wasn't a human - they knew what the animals they represented were like as well, but nothing else, so he decided to expand the answer a bit. "It's what we call a bug, and if you're wondering, it's alive."

Plushtrap chirped at the firefly as it fled close to him. He twitched his nose when the insect briefly landed on it as he kept on eyeing it. Neither he nor BB could stop looking at the soft light coming from the creature.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **FanficLovingPerson – sorry, I try to work with the time I have. I can't always have a long chapter, but I really try to not have four lines to read either.**

 **wes27 – since Nightmarionne is going to be an important character, I'll keep explanations about him for when he appears. Better not spoil it for you.**

 **Secret – against, is all I can say.**

 **Devon – some of these ideas were pretty cute :3**

 ***Thanks MidnightMorpher for pointing out the typo!**


	33. Panicked

The little firefly fluttered around the closet.

Ryan deeply wanted the mangled fox to show up and like the small insect just like the rest did. That thing was afraid of anything, but the kid doubted she would fear a harmless firefly. It would perhaps surprise her, but that light seemed to be a magnet that attracted the Nightmares' curiosity more than any other thing. She had to like it.

It was a strange thought for Ryan. He knew the animatronics despised the light, be it the flashlight or a lightning bolt flashing too harshly. However, the firefly was a completely different thing. Maybe, if he could find a way to create a soft light like the fluttering bug's, he could illuminate his way through the house without bothering the Nightmares. He wished he could get the firefly to follow him around like his pet so he could have light, happy Nightmares, and a sea of nostalgic memories around him, but that was something completely out of reach. Insects weren't tamable, as far as he knew. Sadly. A pet firefly, he was sure no one ever heard that, and it would've been greater than the kid ever imagined when he thought of the advantages of such a tiny, almost ridiculous idea.

Crazy wishes aside, the only thing he wanted that precise moment was the freaky animatronic to like the bug, come out full of curiosity, and allow the kid to explain without too much trouble. In a normal case, the only thing the fox would have to fear would be Nightmare Fredbear, but strangely enough, it was Ryan who she had been wary of; and that was out of his understanding. She did _not_ like him a single bit, and he had seen it through her eyes. He had learned it was a great way to know how they were feeling. The Nightmares' eyes told more than one thousand words. They were expressive, and all their emotions danced upon them.

He had seen the hatred in those mismatched golden eyes when she was looking at him so fiercely, as if he had done something that shattered her heart, but that expression changed to a fearful, wary one when she was met with angry, glowing gazes. Ryan hadn't done anything, and he couldn't just put it together. He doubted opening the closet could've bothered her _that_ much. It wasn't just the normal hatred he could see in the other Nightmares when they were being aggressive. He had never seen that ' _I hate you too much to let you live'_ expression that was reflected on the torn-up fox, but the case was completely different for this newcomer. She completely hated Ryan, and that was all there was to it.

There had to be a reason, but that would be found out later.

As the firefly wandered from left to right, up and down in front of the shuttered doors, one of them made such slight movement only Nightmare Fredbear and Ryan managed to actually see it, as they were the only ones with their attention fully fixed on the closet. The bear was still entranced at the strange creature, and it wouldn't matter how common it was in the real world. For him, it was and would always be magic.

The kid showed a small, half smile when he caught glimpse of the ripped snout peeking out. The fox must've seen the light, and wanted to take the risk of coming out only to be sure of what it was. Good signal. For her, it was completely crazy to come out of her safe room only to see the source of a strange light that for some reason attracted her by its beauty.

As carefully as possible, the fox peeked out enough for her attached eye to look through the bedroom in search for the light that had called her. She blinked and moved her tattered ears up inquisitively when the firefly fled in front of her almost gracefully. She couldn't help coming out a bit more as the insect hovered over her, and her golden eyes became filled with wonder. What was it? Did it like her? Was it harmless? It was too small to hurt anyone, so she wouldn't be afraid of it.

Ryan found it creepy how the second endoskeleton head appeared to be autonomous, as it gave a tilt while keeping its large eye on the hovering bug. The fox blinked again as she slightly parted her jaw to utter a low, delighted garble. She felt safe with the firefly around her, it was like a little angel that had come to scare away those who tried to harm her.

She felt protected by a bug.

And while it was adorable, in a way, for Ryan, another side of him wanted to laugh and scream how ridiculous it was, but he was dealing with a creature full of daggers for teeth that was afraid of a _kid_. Nothing could ever be odder than that, and the angel-firefly wasn't what anyone else would've laughed about.

Blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Ryan slid down the bed, trying not to make too much noise when he stepped on the carpet. He was followed by the three present animatronics' gazes that became filled with worry when they noticed how the boy quietly approached, but not too fast and without moving too much away from the bed. He hadn't dealt with a frightened Nightmare, and he could only guess what could happen. Angry ones needed bravery. It was possible that a frightened one also needed someone brave who told them it was all right, or a calm soul who'd take away the fear, or both, or something else entirely.

One doesn't succeed until they try. They may fail or not, but trying, and only trying, leads to success. Nothing else does at all.

The white fox caught glimpse of Ryan standing just feet away from her, and immediately backed as she threw a warning growl full of static. The firefly flew higher away from her, hovering around above everyone. The kid had been briefly sure the bug was there to help, but he couldn't concentrate on that now. "Hey, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." he said sweetly, but the mangled animatronic gave a dangerous snap when he started getting too close, and catching the message, he stopped advancing. She didn't believe his words. "I'm telling the truth, I swear I won't hurt you, that's the last thing I want to do right now!"

The fox garbled again, jaws parted in a threatening manner. Ryan knew she was bluffing, though; she was trying to make him believe she'd attack if he didn't stop talking, but he knew she couldn't move much, and wouldn't be fast enough to catch him. He was sure he heard the second head give a few clicking noises, opening and closing its jaw, when he calmly said, "Please, you have to believe me." Another snap almost made him flinch. All he spoke were lies in those white-and-pink ears.

The Nightmares had believed him because they still trusted him, and had been shown true kindness. That animatronic, however, had no relation with him, nor had it ever been greeted with kindness since she arrived. How would she know if he was truly good? That was the problem.

Nightmare Fredbear kept his scarlet gaze on the two. He was unsure about whether truly consider that new animatronic harmless or not. It was fearful, yes, but she also despised Ryan. No one could tell if she would attack him whenever she felt like doing so, as long as he was alone of course. Having in mind that either BB or Plushtrap would always be with him, there wasn't much to worry about, but the golden bear was still unsure. It was clear that the new Nightmares didn't know what was happening, nor did they know each other. They didn't know that Nightmare Fredbear was the leader; thus, they wouldn't listen to him unless he left things water clear.

The Nightmares were ruthless monsters when they first came to life, and the bear had to be at the edge of attacking them to make them aware that he was the one who had to be respected and listened to –namely, Nightmare Foxy and Nightmare Bonnie had been the ones who almost got one good punishment based on violence–. But those two newcomers weren't killing machines, and wouldn't react the same towards the harsh ways of telling who commanded there. BB was just too curious, gentle and playful to scream at him, and he would probably understand that Nightmare Fredbear was the rightful leader by just telling him so, but the other was, again, a different case. She wouldn't just consider something that could smash her to bits a leader, she would not receive orders from anyone no matter how panicked she was. She would respect those who showed they were stronger, but she wouldn't have a leader. She'd rather be a walking nail for all she cared.

The only way to tell her so would be the hard way, and Nightmare Fredbear didn't want to hurt her.

The torn-up animatronic started to grow nervous. Her bluffing wasn't working, the attacker wasn't backing away. She had to get rid of him somehow, but the threatening show of her sharp teeth wasn't sending him away, and she wouldn't risk attacking. She knew Nightmare Fredbear was there, and one single swipe from those sickle claws was more than enough to destroy what was left of her. It was a stupid decision to go out there.

Ryan didn't know what else to do. Reasoning wasn't working, and his ideas flew away. How was he going to show her that he wasn't a threat? He didn't have many choices left. His eyes widened when the mangled animatronic suddenly gave low, defeated garble as it backed into the closet with lowered ears.

The kid had made a mistake that was aggravating the situation, and he had been unaware.

There was one thing he could _not_ do around that animatronic. Show no fear.

The fox wanted him to leave her alone, and had bluffed to make him back up and go back to where he came from, but seeing how he didn't move and kept talking things she didn't understand, she thought he would attack her because she was defenseless. Ryan had a great protection with him, and the animatronic knew she couldn't do anything against them all. Faking an attack hadn't worked, and she as well was out of ideas. _And_ panicked.

When the boy realized this, he felt the mistake run all over him, taunting him. He had scared that fox to a great extent, and that was definitely not a good start.

He mentally smacked himself for not being able to have seen that earlier, now he was going to have a hard time trying to fight the fear. A battle against a fear that wasn't his own wasn't so easy to win.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I have good news, sorta. My cousin is still working on the comic, but she's also drawing several artworks from the story! I left a link to one of them on my profile (that for some reason won't show up, so while I fix it, I leave it here:** **art/What-Are-You-Looking-At-571214090)** **. She has two drawings now, wait for more ;)**

 **MidnightMorpher – I would've kept Mangle as an 'it', but I kinda have problems keeping that pronoun throughout a story. Plus, I just can't see Mangle being anything that's not a girl.**

 **Devon – your ideas are always so nice to read. The plushie one was absolutely adorable, and I just had to giggle at the image of Plushtrap and BB team-working against Nightmarionne :P**

 **Luna Best Pony – my cousin actually drew that ;)**

 **DarkBlur2005 – yes.**


	34. Protected

Ryan wished he could go back in time.

He kept blaming himself for being so mindless, despite knowing it wasn't his fault that he had scared the bolts out of that animatronic. How was he supposed to know how she would react? Frightened Nightmares were pretty much unpredictable. It looked like calming down that fox was going to be calming down a Nightmare the other way around; either the kid had to show fear, or he had to stay calm and show no emotion whatsoever.

Easier said than done.

The mangled fox had seen how Ryan wasn't afraid of her, so pretending to be scared wasn't an option anymore. It would be more than obvious that he was acting, she could think it was some kind of trap to make her come out and get an unwelcoming greeting through teeth and claws, which would make her never want to come out. Acting would just make things worse, so the only options left were either try to talk or leave. Ryan wasn't going to risk anything, he'd rather wait until she calmed down, then try a new strategy. He had other things to do, anyways. The fox wasn't going anywhere, that was for sure, so he had more than enough time to fix a certain problem.

The boy sighed in disappointment; he would've liked to help. It hurt him to see a Nightmare so afraid. He couldn't stand seeing others suffering. He felt an urge to help, but what could he do? He hated to leave the torn-up animatronic alone in the dark. He needed Nightmare Fredbear with him if he was going to talk to the other Nightmares, and Plushtrap was definitely not willing to stay in the bedroom on his own. Perhaps BB would, though. After all, both he and the fox were new to that freaky world. What if they had any relation? The Nightmares recognized each other because they were together in the real word. Could those two be partners as well? Ryan hoped so, it would really help.

"Fine, I'll leave." The white-and-pink ears moved up at the calm tone on the kid's voice as he turned towards the bed to grab the flashlight, before looking back at her for a moment. "Sorry for scaring you." He gained some hope when he saw the fox tilt her head almost curiously, but right afterwards she garbled a brief growl before looking away, surrounded by the darkness inside the closet.

Ryan couldn't stand what he was seeing. It made him sad to know that there was someone who wasn't having a good time at all. That animatronic was probably afraid of every single thing around it, except for the wandering firefly. At least she'd have light when Ryan left, and that was kind of a relieving though. Someone constantly fearing for their life, left alone in the dark, was anything but good. The kid wanted to leave the flashlight there, but he knew he'd need it. He had to know where he was going, and he could use it to stop an attack from a pissed off animatronic if necessary.

Just to clear up his doubts, he glanced at Plushtrap, who was looking at him curiously, as he asked, "Do you wanna stay here?" The bunny's beady eyes widened in exaggerated shock before he barked an all too negative chirp. He was definitely not going to stay near that fox, her being fearful or not. What if she decided to snap? He didn't want to stay and wait for her reaction. He wouldn't be able to defend himself, and that was the worst part. Without anyone there with him, he just wouldn't stay. He preferred to stay under the disapproving glares of the Nightmares.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't." Ryan deadpanned. His blue eyes glanced at the expectant humanoid. "BB?" Said animatronic tilted his head. "What about you?" His glowing eyes stared at the closet. He could still see the fox's silhouette as she hid herself in the darkest corner. He felt bad as well, and showed his worry through a single nod. Ryan had to smile at his kindness; he was grateful to have found a Nightmare whose heart wasn't corrupted by a single drop of malice. "Good to know. Just…" he briefly glanced at the closet. "try not to scare her."

He was sure BB wouldn't bother the fox. They couldn't even communicate. The humanoid wanted to at least talk once as he waited for the kid to solve whatever he had to solve, but he didn't want to scare her; he didn't know how to raise or lower his voice yet, and a booming "hello" would probably be too sudden.

He nodded again. Nothing would go wrong. Plus, that firefly calmed down the torn-up animatronic, and it didn't seem to be leaving the bedroom anytime soon. The glowing, tiny guardian angel would stay with the one who needed it.

"Well then, let's get going." Ryan announced as he grabbed the flashlight, pointing it at the ocean carpet. Plushtrap immediately followed him, and Nightmare Fredbear waited for them both to get out of the bedroom before going with them. He didn't know if Ryan had any sort of plan to end the rivalry once and for all, but having in mind how many ideas came to him, he had faith in him. Plus, with him around, nothing would go wrong.

BB watched them leave before panning his red gaze towards the shuttered doors. He couldn't understand why the fox was so scared. It was clear that no one there wanted to hurt her; moreover, they wanted to help, but she completely refusing to accept it. It was less understandable how she feared Ryan. He was just a kid that'd do anything to help those he considered friends. What was the big deal? That animatronic was weird, but it was clear she had a problem, and BB wouldn't judge her for that. Maybe it had something to do with her state.

Who did that to her?

* * *

Nightmare Freddy whirred in annoyance. Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica had been arguing silently, and the bear couldn't take it anymore. Superior to them or not, he wouldn't interfere with their rivalry, but he wished it would stop soon. He hated arguments between fellow Nightmares.

Even more when they were pointless.

They had been arguing over their many battle scars, about how one was right and the other wasn't, about how one was smarter than the other – childish discussions. And no matter how strange it could sound, the Nightmares had a tendency to act like children when they had non-hostile arguments. Especially those two.

Nightmare Foxy hadn't paid much attention, he was still submerged on his thoughts as he stared at the wall. He had never understood how the rivalries worked. He knew he was in one, but how was he supposed to act? He felt mad, he had the urge to attack his new counterpart. But he actually thought about it. He wanted a why. Something pushed him to show the other fox who was better; but the reason? Where was it? Unlike the rabbit and the chicken, he wanted to know why an odd, invisible force told him to fight. He didn't just act instinctively.

Nightmare Freddy looked at him. He was having trouble at keeping the group together, it was three of them already listening to the 'error' within the dream. He would never understand that strange force, but he wanted to. It would help him understand everything better. He felt left out. All of his partners, Nightmare Fredbear, even Plushtrap, had been struck by the hatred towards their rival. He had asked Nightmare Chica a few times about it, but she had left things in the air. She couldn't find an answer; she had said that she felt forced to hate Nightmare Bonnie, and that was all. But, that wasn't enough for the bear. He wanted to know what exactly happened. He needed to comprehend it fully if he wanted to help.

The first Fredlet that Ryan had befriended, standing on the couch, looked up when he heard its friend approaching. The dull glimmer of the flashlight let the Nightmares know they were getting a little visit.

The small bear chirped gleefully as it jumped off the couch and ran next to the kid, happy to see him after what, for it, was so long. "Hey, little guy." Ryan greeted with a small giggle. The other two Fredlets, still within Nightmare Freddy, only trilled their happiness to see their friend. They didn't feel like moving around. The bear made a short, gentle growl. Ryan never came around them without a reason, and he wondered what he was up to.

The boy briefly glanced at Nightmare Foxy as he heard Plushtrap and the Fredlet warble at each other. He was well aware of his presence, but wasn't going to pay him attention. He had important things to think about. Nightmare Fredbear wouldn't have tolerated that lack of attention and would've ordered him to look up without thinking twice in any other case, but he knew what he was thinking about. He was searching for a reason of his sudden hatred towards the white fox, and that was more than fine. There was no need to bark orders at him.

Nightmare Freddy looked away respectfully when the larger bear looked at him, and he rumbled softly to tell him it was fine. He could look up with no worries. Nightmare Freddy still doubted before raising his yellow gaze. He had always been one of the most respectful Nightmares, Nightmare Chica following him. They wouldn't hesitate before obeying orders, and that was the only reason of why Nightmare Fredbear was gentler towards them; he almost always had to raise his voice with the other two because they didn't obey a first time.

The chicken chirred at Ryan when she saw him, but Nightmare Bonnie only snorted. He wasn't precisely in the mood to talk, and would listen because he didn't want to disobey and anger all those razor sharp teeth and claws. Nightmare Chica kept her gaze low while in the golden bear's presence, despite her knowing he wouldn't be mad at her for not doing so. Ryan stood silent for a moment before finally saying, "I need to talk to you two. And this is important."

* * *

BB paced from left to right. Being alone in the dark wasn't as cool as he thought it would be. Soon enough, he started feeling alone. They hadn't forgotten him, had they? He could barely hear growls in the distance, but mostly because he couldn't hear as acutely as the rest of Nightmares. He couldn't stop thinking about the fox. He hadn't heard anything from her, not even the creaking of her messed limbs when she shifted. She was idling, completely still. So terrified was she?

The firefly fluttered past him, and his red eyes widened when he saw it making slow circles in the air as it advanced forward. Towards the closet.

She felt awful. The white fox hated how she looked like, and she hated how everything out there could make her fall apart. Why was everything so dangerous? Even the doors were frightening for her; so tall, towering over her. She didn't like anything that was bigger than her, she didn't like feeling small and powerless.

She was nothing but a completely defenseless and torn mangle.

Mangle idled on the spot, not moving a single bit, though her legs slightly trembled from time to time. She knew one of those monsters was out there, and it didn't leave. Was it waiting for her to come out? Probably. Where was her guard? She could barely see its comforting light, but she didn't dare to come out and see where it was. She needed its company now more than ever.

And then, there it was.

Her ear twitched in a circular movement when she caught the noise of the small wings, and the light soon lit up the dark closet. Mangle looked with wide eyes at the firefly as it fluttered above her head, until finally resting on her nose.

She felt protected now.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **FanficLovingPerson/The hazel-eyed bookworm – since I was in a hurry, the link I left on the past author note was pretty much cut in half. The ones in my profile work now, so you can see them if you haven't yet.**

 **Luna Best Pony – that will happen, but not with Mangle/I actually had an idea resembling that, but it's not exactly a drawing pad what he will find.**

 **Icygem522 – that song actually does fit :3**

 **Devon – amazing ideas as always. I'm actually planning on carrying out the first one.**

 **MidnightMorhper – one: indeed. Two: yes, I mentioned it before. Since the Toys didn't get to be in FNaF 4 (sadly), I won't add them.**

 **Guest – I try, I try :(**


	35. Surprised

The firefly was so pretty.

Mangle's mismatched eyes almost seemed to beam happiness and delight as the small bug stood on her nose. She felt a bit of tickling when the firefly walked over it just for a small moment before taking flight. The golden gaze never ceased watching it hover around.

That strange creature was so nice to her. Mangle wondered why it seemed so happy and careless. That place was full of monsters! And even worse – there were humans as well. The fox had a hard time trying to remember things; her horrible state had affected her memory. There was one thing she did remember though.

Humans were evil.

She remembered that they had transformed her into the mess of metal she was. No human had ever been nice towards her, be it the small ones that always bothered her or the bigger ones who looked at her with disgust. She also remembered those faces. And she hated them.

She pondered. That small human from earlier had said he was sorry. Mangle couldn't recall any human apologizing to her for what they had done, that word had never been directed at her. It was probably some kind of trap. There was no good within humans. She felt nervous. There was one of them just at the other side of the towering doors. And that one was scary. Since when did humans have such a creepy appearance? She understood that she was in some kind of twisted place that transformed everything into monsters, including her, but that other human appeared to be normal. So what was the deal with the colorful one?

BB was worried. Was he accidentally scaring the mangled fox by just being there? He knew she could see him, and he tried to remain within the shadows, though his glowing eyes always revealed his position. He wanted to go with the others, but he wasn't alright with leaving Mangle on her own. She adored the firefly, and it wasn't leaving at all, but what if it did while he was with the others? The fox would panic. Being nice was boring sometimes. He wanted company, someone who actually was aware he was there and didn't see him as some sort of terrifying monster. He would've liked to know what Ryan was so seemingly eager to talk about with the Nightmares.

Taking it from the bright side, at least he could inspect the bedroom a bit more. Since there was no light, the room was extremely dark, and BB was glad he had an acceptable night vision. He didn't know what most things placed there were. He tilted his head at the innocent Freddy plush sitting on the bed. Was it alive? BB had no idea, but it didn't look like so. It was something weird for him; why was it so friendly-looking? And why didn't it move? He'd have to ask Ryan. Somehow.

Red light caught his attention when he looked at the largest dresser. The alarm clock had 5 AM panted on its screen, and BB tilted his head again at the strange pattern. He could understand words, but he couldn't read, be it numbers or letters. He reminded himself to ask Ryan about those strange hieroglyphs on that odd box.

The humanoid flinched back when the clock started blaring 6 AM. Did he do something wrong? What did that beeping noise mean? He did not like it at all, it was such a strange noise, unknown to him.

Mangle immediately looked up, perhaps too sharply, when she heard the beeping. Not even the comforting glow of the firefly could calm her down. Where was the noise coming from? She did not like the constant sound either, it made her nervous. It was coming from somewhere near, but she couldn't tell where, and that made the situation worse. She lowered her ears as her eyes looked around. She didn't see anything, and she felt confusion and a bit of fear coming from the other animatronic. So he didn't know what it was either?

Mangle was unsure about if to consider that something good or not.

BB narrowed his eyes when the beeping stopped and the numbers changed back to 1 AM. He knew the strange shapes painted on the weird box were different, and they had also been appearing and disappearing when the alarming noises beeped. Did it have any significance at all?

* * *

Nightmare Chica huffed as she looked toward the bedroom after having heard the alarm clock. Unlike BB, she actually understood what the beeping noise meant, and decided not to pay attention – there was no need to. The change of night wasn't important for them anymore.

Ryan had a quick look towards there as well. He was somewhat worried the clock could've startled Mangle. She was fearful enough to panic over it. She didn't get to that point, fortunately, but she had been given a good scare.

So far, the answers the kid had gotten led to nowhere. Nightmare Bonnie wasn't cooperating much, and only the chicken was actually being helpful. She had said that whenever she and the rabbit were together, anger started growing upon them. They always tried to contain it, but sometimes it was just too strong. There was also the fact that they had been disrespecting each other since their first fight long ago, the one that basically shattered every possible friendly interaction towards each other. If they hadn't earned their battle scars, their problem would've been easier to solve. It wasn't like anyone could be happy after having lost something due to a brawl, and ended up covered in claw marks.

Nightmare Bonnie had somewhat lost his sense of hearing due to his ear being completely dysfunctional, and Nightmare Chica's sight wasn't so keen after having lost her eye. For the Nightmares, their hearing and sight were important things; they needed them to travel around the house. It was always night, and they had to see and hear through the darkness to be aware of what was going on. Partially losing their most crucial senses had bothered them way too much.

Nightmare Freddy listened carefully, knowing the subject was the rivalry between Nightmares that he so wanted to understand. The answers hadn't pleased him too much either. There wasn't a clear reason for their hatred, and one could only guess. That twisted dream hadn't done many successes, and that error the Nightmares had was its worst mistake. If only Ryan could find out why it had to be that way… Was it his fault? After all, he had created that world, albeit unintentionally.

The yellow-eyed bear momentarily watched Plushtrap and two of the Fredlets run past him; the last one was still with him. Those three didn't really care about what was happening. Plushtrap had always been disrespected by the Nightmares. Gentle or not, he wouldn't just help them solve their problems. It was his way of getting his revenge for being so mistreated. It wasn't his fault that he was practically harmless, but he was still mocked for it.

Ryan closed his eyes thoughtfully. Since there wasn't any reason at all, other than the whole rivalry thing being a seemingly unfixable mistake, he couldn't find many ways of dealing with it. He looked up at the Nightmares as he asked, "You two should just be friendly towards each other and forget that feeling." Nightmare Bonnie snorted. How was he supposed to do that? The kid was unable to understand what it felt like. It wasn't that easy to leave the matter behind.

For once, both he and Nightmare Chica agreed on something.

Reading their expressions was enough for Ryan. "Have you actually _tried_?"

The animatronics frowned. They hadn't ever tried to act as if they had just met. Nightmare Chica chirred. She didn't know how she could just let the fact that she was half-blinded because of that rabbit slip away as if it was a simple thing that didn't need to be cared about. Even though, she actually thought about it deeply. It could work.

Nightmare Bonnie wasn't so eager to agree, by the other hand. He straight away accepted it wouldn't work. He wasn't as forgiving as the chicken was, and he was not going to let his hatred disappear and be replaced with tolerance. He just looked away.

There was no way he would be friends with his rival.

Ryan sighed after noticing how Nightmare Bonnie wasn't going to listen to the idea. "At least pretend that you-" He was cut off when Plushtrap and the Fredlets ran past him, almost making him jump back. He remained silent, eyes wide, before growling an annoyed, "Do you _mind_?" at the plushie. He immediately stopped, the two little bears walking next to him as they looked at the kid with curious expressions. "I'm trying to talk here."

Plushtrap chirped. He absolutely did not care, he was just having fun. "If you wanna play, go to your hallway or something, but this is important and I can't concentrate if you guys keep running around!" The bunny scowled at him. Since when was playing forbidden?

He thought better about it. The hallway was his favorite place to be, along with the bedroom, but the latter was occupied by a place-stealer and an exaggeratedly frightened fox. The corridor, however, was empty. He and the Fredlets could play there and they wouldn't bother anyone.

Plushtrap rolled his eyes as he trilled at the Fredlets to follow him, and they all dashed down the hall under the gaze of Nightmare Freddy, except the last Fredlet. It seemed too tired to follow. "Thank you." Ryan said dryly after they left. He wasn't expecting Plushtrap to leave so early. He was persistent, and didn't really like to do what others told him.

* * *

Loads of small footsteps invaded the hallway. Plushtrap and the Fredlets chased each other, coming in and out of the doorways. Those little bears sure were fast; the golden plushie had been trying to catch them, but was completely unable to. And he thought he was the fast one… While it was true that he could hide in a room too fast for the eye to follow, the Fredlets could run from one to another twice in two mere seconds.

Plushtrap finally stopped in the middle of the corridor, uttering a defeated chirrup. The Fredlets gathered around him, their eyes showing how much they wanted him to keep playing with them, but he was just too tired. He sat down with a low thud.

He started thinking. The thought of him being pretty much useless wouldn't stop coming back to him. He just didn't understand why he was so unfitting. His bite couldn't even draw blood; his teeth were too small and blunt. He had many, yes, but for what? He couldn't even leave notable teeth marks on an old, wooden broomstick, and the scars he had given Ryan were barely visible by now.

He didn't even have claws, and if they were retractable, he would've noticed. Then again, the Fredlets didn't either. Unless…

Plushtrap trilled interrogatively at them, asking if they had retractable claws. It was unlikely, but they were demonic enough to have them. The Fredlet with the large tear over its eyes looked at its hands. They were clawless.

Or so Plushtrap thought.

It merely flexed its small fingers, and short claws emerged from the tips with a low clink-like noise. The plush bunny's eyes widened in surprise. Well that was just great. He looked at his left hand; he didn't know how retractable claws worked, but he was sure he didn't have them, and gave a bitter sigh. The Fredlets soon understood what happened to him. One of them hid its claws before sitting next to Plushtrap, and the two of them gave him gentle trills. He was very different, but he was still special in a way. It was okay to be different, and those who didn't fit with the rest were often the best of them all. It still bothered Plushtrap, but his friends' kind words helped him feel better.

He chirped his thanks before standing up. Maybe he could go see if Mangle had decided to show up. He could try to help her, he suddenly felt like doing so. He was happy again, and he wanted to help someone. He also knew how to make others feel better, and now he was really anxious to help the white fox.

He told it to the Fredlets, and they trilled happily. They also wanted to help. The more, the better. They walked towards the end of the hallway, looking at each other as they told their plans. The Fredlets wanted to tell the fox that she was also special. Plushtrap just wanted to calm her down. Either of those ideas was great, and combining them was even greater. The bunny thought positive. The idea would work.

Plushtrap suddenly crashed into something, and it almost sent him down. The Fredlets immediately stepped away, but the plush bunny didn't notice this as he shook his head and prepared to screech at the guilty wall.

Except for the fact that it wasn't a wall what he had crashed with.

His eyes slowly widened after a few blinks to confirm that he was truly seeing what was in front of the hallway's entrance, and moved his head up at the towering, shadowy shape. A hissing growl was directed at them as the bear turned his head to lock scarlet eyes with the three plushies.

Plushtrap uttered a brief, frightened chirp before going still as the Fredlets hid behind him.

Nightmare turned to look at them, and he almost seemed to grin further than he already was. Three defenseless, demonic plushies. That was just too easy.

Plushtrap immediately regretted having gone away on his own. He wished Nightmare Freddy would've gone with them. What was he going to do now? He couldn't fight against Nightmare – that was completely crazy. He realized how horrible the situation truly was.

If he stood there, he and the Fredlets would be reduced to shreds.

If he went to the bedroom, BB and Mangle would be in great trouble.

And if he went back with Ryan, the Nightmares could be harmed.

All options led to something terrible. Nightmare's growl became louder as his eyes pierced into the bunny. He was so small compared to the shadowy bear. Before nothing could happen, they all could have sworn they heard a hushed, whispering screech somewhere near. The next thing they knew, something lashed against Nightmare.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **LunaBestPony – that would be sweet, but I have other things planned/Maybe ;)**

 **Devon – that joke actually made me giggle a bit. I love all of your ideas, I always enjoy reading them.**

 **MidnightMorpher – not really the same thing, but they will be pretty good friends, and yes, the brother will make an appearance later on/BB, Mangle and Nightmarionne all appear in the Halloween update, but the other Toys don't. That's why I don't add them.**

 **Mia – I think this chapter answers your question.**

 **purrysyfert – I don't really plan on mentioning anything that hasn't appeared in the actual game. I don't really think a TV would settle in.**


	36. Warned

The three plushies were unable to move from shock and awe.

Nightmare backed away with a pained bellow, and Plushtrap and the Fredlets froze when their eyes met their defender.

Yet another new animatronic.

Even though, that one didn't look like an animatronic at all. A terrifying smile that would haunt those whom it was directed at for ages and glowing, slit-shaped pupils drifting in the sea of black its eyes were, the skeleton-like creature let out a hushed, prolonged bubbling hiss at the shadow-cloaked bear.

The awe increased when the damage that creature had done was noticed. Nightmare's right eye had a large gash over it, going from the top of the once glowing orb to the side of the muzzle. He snarled furiously before looking at that who had the ridiculous courage to actually _attack_ him, and his remaining eye widened when he felt a wave of hatred crash against him.

He didn't know who that puppet-like entity could be, but he did know one thing: he despised it.

The feeling, unsurprisingly, was mutual. Increasing hatred was all that could be seen in those glowing, thin slits for pupils. That thing looked anything but friendly, and Plushtrap backed a step when he noticed it. What if it wasn't there to help them? It could've been pure coincidence, and he was aware of the feelings the two animatronics were showing. He recognized that kind of anger, that kind of irritation.

They were rivals.

The bunny uttered a low trill when he came to a realization, and the Fredlets gave him concerned looks. If that unnerving creature was there to replace Nightmare himself, the most dangerous, cruel and cunning of the animatronics, _and_ it happened to not be on their side… What if it was even worse than the shadowy bear? None of the three plushies wanted to think about it.

One of the Fredlets chirped alarmingly. They had to go get help. If they just stood there, they could be harmed by either of the two terrifying creatures facing each other in front of the hallway. Plushtrap didn't think twice before dashing down the hall, trying to go past the dark shapes as fast as possible, the Fredlets right behind him. He started cawing as loud as he could.

Nightmare Fredbear raised his ears when he heard the erratic caws and barks, and immediately turned to face the entrance of the salon as so did everyone else. Plushtrap made a rough stop when he entered, barking what the Nightmares understood as _'danger'_ over and over again; the gigantic worry on his eyes couldn't go unnoticed. The two small bears darted past him and immediately hid within their larger version, who gave them a preoccupied glance. The last Fredlet chirped questioningly, but the other two were too terrified to respond.

Ryan didn't need a translation to tell what was happening, the look on Plushtrap's face and the worry beaming from his caws said enough. His first thought was that Mangle had snapped, but he erased that idea when he overheard Nightmare's unmistakable, deep bellow. He sounded _mad,_ even more so than when he was unable to find the kid.

The plush toy stood cowering next to Ryan; the tips of his ears were almost completely folded, showing uncontainable fear. The Nightmares would've sneered at him in any other occasion for being so afraid, but they knew that it was Nightmare what they were talking about, and Plushtrap had almost been attacked by him while he had no way to defend himself. The animatronics suddenly entered in thought at that. If Nightmare had attacked him, how had Plushtrap even managed to escape from him unharmed? And why hadn't he followed? Nightmare Fredbear wouldn't hesitate to figure it out. It wasn't like he wanted his demonic counterpart around, anyways.

He gave Ryan a sideways glance as he sternly said, "Stay here."

The kid didn't really want him to against a very angry-sounding Nightmare. Few times had he heard such angered, hateful snarls and bellows coming from him, and he knew it was too dagerous to go face him alone. He slightly shook his head. "But he's-" He was cut off when the golden bear repeated his order more severely. " _Stay."_

No more words came from Ryan. Nightmare Fredbear only acted like that when danger was too close and needed to be fought off, and he knew it. The bear wouldn't risk having anyone harmed for not having acted when the situation required so; he carried enough guilt already. He knew better than anyone that when Nightmare had too much hatred around him, he could go on a rampage and be completely unstoppable. He would kill and destroy everything and anything around him unceremoniously. A berserk Nightmare was too much of a problem, and no one would say anything against that.

When it became clear that the boy wouldn't try to interfere with the problem, Nightmare Fredbear directed the Nightmares a firm growl before disappearing into the darkness of the hall. Ryan couldn't hide his worry, and neither could Plushtrap hide his fear. He had never seen the plushie so terrified, his jaw was even slightly shivering.

The animatronics, even Nightmare Foxy, who seemed to have been pulled out of his thoughts after the alarm call was heard, only gave him intrigued looks. Even though they weren't used to feel fear among those of their kind, Plushtrap's was understandable. The odd case was that Mangle's, however, wasn't. Why was a creature with powerful jaws and a downright eerie appearance be afraid of anything? The lack of answers irritated the Nightmares.

* * *

BB looked at the half-open door. He heard the whispering screech and the menacing bellows, and he wanted to know what was going on. He wasn't so fluent around the Nightmares' language, but he understood more than Ryan did, being one of them, and knew that those battle cries meant that a fight was about to take place. It sounded dangerously close to the bedroom, and he had heard Plushtrap give the danger alert. Were his friends in trouble? He had to get out and at least have a look at what was happening. If he could help somehow, he would be there to do so.

He still didn't think it was alright to leave Mangle alone in the darkness, but there was something wrong going on out there and BB knew that was more important. As long as the firefly was there, the white fox would be just fine. That was pretty much the only thing that didn't scare her.

He tried not to overthink it all before he would change his mind, and carefully walked out of the bedroom, following the source of the noise, but not without giving the obscure bedroom a last glance. He hoped the glowing bug wouldn't go away during his absence.

* * *

Nightmare Fredbear let out a commanding bellow as he arrived at the scene, and was surprised to see yet another new animatronic there. The slender creature didn't even flinch at the sudden roar right beside it, and kept its position as if nothing had happened – it didn't even look at the one who came to assist. The golden bear didn't take it as a menace, yet, and glowered at Nightmare; his eyes widened inadvertently when he noticed the large gash over the right side of his face, and assumed that the skeletal being next to him was responsible for the damage.

He silently thanked it; that was exactly what he would've done if Nightmare dared to challenge him. Of course, he knew his dark side wasn't stupid enough to engage him into a fight without a proper reason. Nightmare Fredbear was a worthy opponent, and Nightmare wanted to leave the strongest one for the end, when he got rid of all the others, or when he had no choice left other than fighting against him.

"Get out of here." Nightmare Fredbear growled deeply, his eyes showing a fiery flame of bright scarlet. Nightmare narrowed his remaining eye. He wasn't content with leaving the one who had damaged his valuable sight go unharmed, but he couldn't do anything else.

He couldn't help the small chuckle from escaping, though. "YoU StiLL acT As if yOU haD No CluE. I am AlwaYS HeRE. _You alWAys RuiN AlL The fuN. WHy do yOU CaRE So muCh ABoUT tHEM? It'S UseLESs."_

Useless? Nightmare Fredbear knew he was up to no good, and was certainly reluctant to even ask. Before he could do so, Nightmare continued, " _ThESe tRaiTOrs havE beEN CReaTED wITh only ONE PuRpOsE, but THEY chOSe to Not boTHER folLoWinG_ ThEIr oRDers." He lowered his voice. _"TheY prEfeR to Be FRienDS WitH thEIR prEY OVer KILLING. So be iT tHen. I will Be the ONe to Put THeM in thEIr rigHTfuL plACE."_

Nightmare Fredbear hardened his threatening look as he snarled, "What do you mean?"

Nightmare gave no reply, and only chuckled as he disappeared into the shadows. The golden bear still heard his last words, though.

" _You wILL sEE."_

The golden bear feared he was planning on getting rid of the other Nightmares, he was fully capable of doing so. After all, he knew what had happened, and that was certainly not good. If it was true that he was always around, nothing could be kept a secret. Few things were harder than trying to spot Nightmare in the darkness; it was the same as looking for a needle in a haystack. No one would know when he was there, listening, taking note of everything. He would use the animatronics' weaknesses against them, and all he had to do to know them was hide and wait.

It was worrying how much he already knew. If he was aware of the other rivalries between Nightmares, he could easily undo Ryan's progress; that was a very fragile thing that could easily be manipulated.

Small, glowing red pupils stood hidden within the darkness, trying to figure out what was happening. BB remained silent as he observed the brief conflict. When he had seen Nightmare, he could feel an all-too powerful desire to kill coming from him, and that was more than enough to leave things clear. He was definitely not good, and he'd be sure to remember that. It rather shocked him how that shadow-cloaked monster was identical to Nightmare Fredbear, only with changed colors – and of course, they were one and the same. Something within Nightmare made him look even more terrifying, but the humanoid couldn't tell exactly what. He guessed it was his constant anger what made him more unnerving.

He didn't see any signs of danger, thing that calmed him down, but he was wary about the somber figure next to Nightmare Fredbear. Just what on Earth was that even supposed to be?

The golden bear stared at the darkness. He was glad he didn't have to draw Nightmare away himself, he had highly doubted his hateful counterpart would just turn around and leave, but that was exactly what he had done. It was partially thanks to the new entity, though. Nightmare had been damaged, and in a normal case, he wouldn't have left just like that.

Nightmare Fredbear looked at the nerve-racking creature next to him when it uttered a small hiss. Its gaze softened, and the slit-shaped pupils soon shifted back to a rounded shape. He took a step back. He wasn't sure about considering it a harmless being. It had saved Plushtrap and the Fredlets indeed, but it didn't look like that was its intention. The bear was sure that thing only wanted to show off in front of Nightmare, leaving it crystal clear that he had something to worry about.

There was no telling about the hostility of that eerie creature.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Anon – yes, it's a certain type of light they are content with. The firefly will remain among us for quite a time.**

 **Mia – not yet.**

 **MidnightMorpher – you see, it wasn't Mangle who came to the rescue ;) Plushtrap won't carry any weapons, though we should all agree that he won't walk around alone anymore! I watched the FNaF World trailer over 9000 times.**

 **Guest – the firefly is not part of something really big, but may help later on.**


	37. Frustrated

A wary golden eye wandered across the obscure bedroom.

The firefly had fluttered out of the closet, and was hovering around the single light on the ceiling, bumping against it from time to time. Mangle had been deeply concerned about that; she wanted the firefly close to her, and she wasn't willing to wait for it to go back to her side. She'd have to reunite with it herself, and that was what bothered her.

That colorful, sharp-toothed human was gone, and the room was completely empty, but the white fox couldn't stop thinking someone was watching her every move. She had heard the angered roars, but now it was all quiet. Everything was calm, and Mangle started to feel more secure about going out. She didn't spot any danger nearby, and her ears searched for any menacing noise; they caught nothing.

She didn't like to leave her one and only hiding spot, but she preferred to take the risk of exposing herself to danger and having her little angel around her rather than being left alone in the dark, waiting for possibly an eternity until the fluttering bug came back into the closet.

Her attentive eyes scanned the place all the time as she slowly made her way out of the closet with quiet metallic noises. The second head was the first to look up at the floating light before Mangle tilted her head at it. She was somewhat mad at it, since it had exposed them both to a possible attack. Mangle didn't know if she would be fast enough to hide again if something came, so she remained near the shuttered doors as a measure of protection.

Her attached eye flickered towards the right door just in case before its attention was all focused on the small bug. She just couldn't understand why it was so unworried. Did it even know that house was full of demons? Mangle wanted to tell it, but that little thing showed no indications of being able to speak, and it wasn't like the fox was clear in speech either. Her voicebox was too ruined to let her express herself properly, and all she could take out with it was a shrill garble that at least made those monsters back away. She wasn't happy with that, though. She wanted to communicate.

The firefly slowly fled down, briefly bumping against the lamp sitting on the nightstand before fluttering around the bed. Mangle's eyes never left it. The light was so entrancing, she could just look at it for ages and never get tired of it.

The firefly was a beautiful creature indeed.

* * *

" _What?"_

There was such exasperation in Ryan's voice that Nightmare Fredbear almost frowned. The kid didn't take the presence of another animatronic too well, he had too many things to work on. He had to make sure Plushtrap and BB got along well, solve the rivalry problem between Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica, calm down the two agitated foxes… He just could not focus on so many things.

The puppet-like being hadn't paid the bear much attention, and had melted into the shadows without saying anything. Nightmare Fredbear had seen an intelligence in those colorless eyes that he hadn't seen on anyone else, and it put him in awe. All the Nightmares were capable of thinking and had an intelligence they didn't know how to use yet, but that creature was fully aware of its knowledge. It was calm, calculating. He didn't think it was possible for a Nightmare to be like that – the skeletal puppet hadn't showed any other emotion. As soon as Nightmare left, the anger dissipated, and that sapient look had flooded its eyes as it stood calm, just as if the brief conflict had never taken place.

That thing was fully aware of what it was, what it knew, and what it was supposed to do. It didn't look hostile, but Nightmare Fredbear was unable to tell much about it.

"That one is different." he said calmly, trying to appease Ryan's irritation. He wouldn't judge him for it, he would've been angry too if he knew he had to solve so many things at a time. "It seems to know what it is, and is fully aware of its purpose and what surrounds it."

Intrigued blue eyes looked at him. "What do you mean? Aren't they all like that?"

"No."

The boy frowned at the answer. Didn't the Nightmares know what they truly were, and what was around them?

"They are still learning. Their purposes have changed since you showed them kindness, and now they are unsure about their new goals. They are still going through new emotions, and as you may have seen, they are unable to control them well." Ryan briefly nodded; the Nightmares didn't know how to react in front of new emotions, no matter if they feel them themselves or they sense them around the others. Confusion angered them, sadness was strange, fear was unexplainable. They hadn't learned how to react to the many emotions they had stored but hidden within them. "That creature is different in that way. It seems to know what emotions it's supposed to feel, and how to control them. There is something special about it."

The kid entered in thought. He was fully aware of how intelligent the Nightmares truly were, but so far they hadn't been using their ability to think twice when they should have. Ryan had been the one who influenced Plushtrap to think a little about what he was doing, and he almost managed to do it with the rest. Nightmare Chica and Nightmare Foxy had pondered about what was going on a few times already.

But they had to be taught how to, be it with words or with examples. There was one of them who apparently learnt it by itself; Ryan didn't know what that meant, but he didn't like it too much. That thing was made to behave like Nightmare, and the kid doubted it would be gentle. All the new Nightmares so far acted like their companions: Nightmare Foxy had a short temper, Mangle as well, even though she wouldn't lash out as someone unless under very specific circumstances; Plushtrap and BB both were curious and playful. Nightmare Fredbear had seen with his own eyes how that puppet-like thing didn't show any signs of being hostile, but Ryan wouldn't let the guard down. Something based upon Nightmare couldn't lead to anything good.

"Maybe it's hiding something…" he muttered thoughtfully. "What if it doesn't want you to know how dangerous it might be?" That was something to reflect on. It was intelligent; it could easily hide its true personality, luring everyone into a false sense of security. Nightmare was unable to do that since everyone knew he wasn't reliable, but no one knew anything about the skeletal puppet's intentions. It would be easy for it to fake being a careless being who just wanders around, while it's actually as merciless as Nightmare.

"You could be right." Nightmare Fredbear finally said. "We never know when it will show up. Be cautious if you ever see it."

"Trust me, I will." Ryan almost deadpanned. He wasn't eager to stumble upon it, that was for sure.

The golden bear translated the message to the Nightmares in the form of a calm, yet stern growl. Nightmare Chica snorted; she had been told what the newcomer looked like, and she was unimpressed. Few things could cause any kind of fear or nervousness gather around her anymore. She had fought against Nightmare, and something that couldn't even bite wouldn't scare her.

She chirred her feat to herself, and Nightmare Bonnie gave her a scowl when he heard it, followed by a dour huff. She fought against _Nightmare_? He'd believe that when pigs fled. He had won their first, show off fight, and he was well aware that the shadowy bear was thousands of times stronger than him. There was just no way the chicken had even dared to go against that monstrosity.

She uttered a low, short caw when she heard the mocking huff. She knew he wasn't going to believe it anyways, but it bothered her to be indirectly called a liar. She merely rolled her eyes; she had no time to deal with him.

* * *

Mangle's ears moved up. She heard footsteps, and they were coming towards the bedroom. She hated to hide without her companion, but she had to. Someone was coming and she did not want to be there to greet them. She, somewhat regretfully, went back into the closet as Ryan, a still slightly trembling Plushtrap and BB came back into the bedroom. The kid was frustrated, he hadn't managed to do much about the rivalry, and all because the new creature's presence caused a wave of thoughts to wander around the Nightmares. When they were pondering about something, it was better to let them think. They didn't like interruptions.

"This is just great," the boy said dryly. "Now I have a who-knows-what that I also have to take care of." He sat on the bed and looked at the fluttering bug; the light of the firefly calmed him down, but he was still irritated.

BB remembered he had to ask him what the strange red things on the weird box were, and why that plush looked so happy and harmless. The curiosity had won the fight against the patience, he knew Ryan wasn't in the mood to talk, but he just couldn't help it.

Before he could, though, Plushtrap froze with a brief, alarmed chirp. The humanoid was forced to look at the right door where the plushie was so intently staring at, and red eyes widened at the glimpse of two glowing dots just outside.

The firefly fluttered past Ryan when he noticed the surprised, almost scared looks of the two animatronics in front of him, and he felt small fear gather around him. What their eyes showed was more than enough to let the kid know that whatever was out there wasn't anything good. "What are you looking at?" he asked lowly, walking towards them trying not to make any noise.

He also froze on the spot when the round, white dots became slit-shaped.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This has been hard to write, and I apologize for it being short. My keyboard's been messing up lately.**

 **FanficLovingPerson – I am indeed ^^**

 **Anon – yes, I know that. The shadow around him is basically a part of his body, and so can be considered as physical.**

 **MidnightMorpher – it wasn't me deciding that logic, though/thanks for reminding me. In Spanish, the phrase literally translates as "water clear", so I always get it mixed up.**

 **Guest – I've decided that they won't.**

 **icygem522 – your idea is interesting, though I should probably see a bit more of it.**


	38. Observed

No matter how much he wanted to, fear prevented Ryan from running away.

His eyes were planted on the thin, white slits that stared at the three with malice, and a mumbling hiss could be heard from the creature. The wide, sharp-toothed smile Ryan managed to oversee through the darkness was unnerving. He didn't wonder why Nightmare Fredbear wanted him to avoid that thing.

It was terrifying.

He knew fear only made the situation worse, but it was absolutely impossible for him to contain it, and Plushtrap and BB were no less terrified. Blue eyes flickered towards the plush bunny when he pressed against Ryan's arm. He had been given a great scare when he was almost reduced to shreds by Nightmare, but the presence of that thing alone was even more frightening. The kid heard him give a low whimper as the tips of his ears lowered fearfully.

None of them broke eye contact with the black creature, and its glare sharpened at that. From the closet, Mangle retreated towards the corner. That thing was absolutely frightening. Her ears fell low as she looked through the shuttered doors; she felt an uncontrollable fear among her when the creature started advancing into the bedroom. She vowed to herself that she would not ever come out again.

Plushtrap whimpered at his friend as they slowly backed away. He wanted him to do _something_ , anything that could get them out of their situation. Ryan would have screamed for help, but he felt voiceless as the slit-shaped pupils pierced into his soul and the menacing hiss invaded the room.

"I-It's alright, g-guys…" Ryan almost whispered, faking a smile full of fear and nervousness. "Nothing's g-going to happen, we- we just have to s-stay together…"

He was silenced when the puppet-like creature's hiss increased for a moment, almost as if telling him to shut up, or else. And indeed, the kid did not hesitate to go quiet immediately with a small flinch. The pupils became even thinner the more eye contact was kept. For some seconds, Ryan could have sworn the creature was looking at him intently, and not focusing so much on the other two – and that was certainly not good. He did not like to be that thing's target; especially because the other two would not be able to protect him, and the increasing fear didn't let him run towards the Nightmares for help.

The white head tilted to the side as the constant hiss lowered, and the slits became slightly rounder. Ryan stared with curious eyes at the creature. It appeared to have calmed down, but it was still wary.

It was looking at him with a sudden curiosity, but not only at him. He briefly glanced at BB; he was in that creature's sight too. It almost seemed confused.

There was something that caught Plushtrap's attention as he stood partially hidden between Ryan and BB. He furtively eyed the creature in front of him. Its teeth were menacing, and, what a surprise, sharper than his, but it had less. However, that was not what exactly brought a bit of happiness among the plushie; it could not close its mouth.

And that meant those teeth were useless, and only served for show.

Plushtrap, by the other hand, could perfectly use his.

His eyes slightly widened when he noticed something that made him the happiest animatronic in the house. Only to put more joy into him, he noticed how the extremely long fingers that thing sported weren't all too sharp. And while they were sharp enough to make Nightmare become a one-eyed monster, they still were pathetic compared to the others' razor sharp claws.

He didn't doubt it. That creature, no matter how large and downright terrifying it was, had less useful weaponry than he did.

He could barely contain the smile, and he could almost see all his fear going away from him. A Nightmare animatronic that couldn't even bite? Plushtrap felt an urge to laugh at that. He was no longer Plushtrap-The-Useless-Small-Non-Nightmare-Animatronic. He always thought that, if something was ever to occupy his spot as the runt of the Nightmare family, it would have to be stupidly small, toothless and clawless, and too sympathetic or curious to even be considered a bit dangerous. But no, turns out the one who was somehow less dangerous than him was a nerve-racking entity that _dwarfed_ him completely.

The sudden happiness caused BB to look at the apparently happy bunny, and Ryan startled when the puppet gave a brief, louder hiss again. It wanted them to give it eye contact; the humanoid did not know that yet, but the kid did. When dealing with an apparently angered Nightmare, eye contact mustn't be broken.

Ryan feared Plushtrap and BB would have to learn that the hard way, but fortunately there was no need to. More startled than anything, they looked up at the waiting black eyes. BB did not understand the meaning of the firm hiss, but Plushtrap did; it meant _'look at me.'_ That creature would not communicate without proper eye contact.

It was inspecting the three, and there was undoubtedly something about Ryan and BB that caught its attention. Plushtrap was completely minor for it, and it even gave him an unsettling look to make him understand that he wasn't worth its time.

The slit pupils slowly became rounded after the creature realized what it was looking at. Children. The hiss gently became a hushed croon. Ryan started wondering if that thing had a voice, it always seemed to make all too quiet noises. And while he didn't imagine it uttering thunderous roars, he had been expecting louder, creepier noises coming from it, not drowned sounds. Still, those quiet hisses only made it more disturbing. Its appearance was scary enough, but the hushed hisses and croons that accompanied it put the icing on the cake.

But it was much calmer than before and so far showed no murderous intent, and that was all the boy cared about. It took him a moment to realize that it stopped looking mad after it had taken a good look at him and BB. And considering the fact that they were both kids –even though not really in the humanoid's case–, it only led Ryan to think that the puppet creature was affectionate towards children.

Then again, that didn't make sense for him.

It was Nightmare's rival. In other words, something that derived from a bloodthirsty, cruel, ruthless killing machine whose only purpose was to kill an innocent kid. Why would something that was supposed to behave like him be _affectionate_ towards him? He couldn't comprehend it.

Or maybe, the rival thing didn't always work the same way.

BB hadn't shown any urge to stay in the hallway. In fact, he was perfectly fine with not being there and didn't complain when Ryan told him not to go there. Plushtrap spent more time with him than in the corridor, but it was still his favorite place to be. Maybe that creature didn't have any desire to kill unlike Nightmare.

Another thing that Ryan found interesting about that thing was its eyes. The Nightmares were capable of showing millions of things through their eyes; that puppet could show even more so. It clearly could not narrow its eyes, or frown, or make any expressions at all, so it relied on its pupils to show its emotions. If they were slits, it meant it was angry. The rounder they were, the happier or calmer it was. Those eyes truly showed a beaming intelligence. They were so cold and calm, yet calculating, and smart. That thing knew more things that all the Nightmares together did, and understood them.

It tilted its head to the other side as the white pupils became a bit rounder, and a soothing croon surrounded it. BB was confused at what it said. It had told them they were _'nice humans'_ , but he knew he was not an actual human. Was that creature aware of it? BB didn't want to tell it if that was the case, because it didn't really seem fond of anything that was not a human. A kid, to be precise.

"So is it friendly or not?" Ryan whispered quietly, not taking his sight off the patient creature, hoping that either BB or Plushtrap would give him any indication as to whether he could trust it enough to talk to it.

Plushtrap knew he'd have to ask, since the humanoid was unable to, and he was unhappy at that. The hard look it had given him made him want to just walk away. It did not like him much.

He made an attempt to look innocent – which was hard for him, since he was dealing with something less dangerous than him. He wished that thing to have been smaller. He didn't feel right with acting submissive towards something that finally proved itself not to be at his level.

He chittered the question quietly, trying to hide the fear as he stood under that commanding, again slit-shaped white gaze. He'd act respectful, not fearful towards it. It pondered about actually deem answering his question. It didn't seem dangerous, and it was clearly considered a friend by the two kids standing in front of it, so it decided to give a simple answer in the form of a hushed coo.

' _Trustworthy.'_

It was honest with its words. Plushtrap found that creature totally incapable of lying, even if its life ever depended on it. It was a gentle being, and it acted with human conscience. If it had the regular point of view of any other Nightmare, it would've growled at the question or even snapped because of it, or simply passed from responding. The animatronics weren't fond of simply telling they were trustworthy, or friendly in any way by just saying it. They preferred to show it. But that puppet told Plushtrap as if he was a close friend, even despite he wasn't its favorite.

He gave a reassuring chirp, though the lack of happiness or relief it would normally have confused Ryan. He didn't act so respectfully towards the others, but he seemed to be doing so with that one.

And he was, indeed. That puppet was extremely intelligent. It knew more things that he did, and he was not going to fight against that. It was disappointing how he had to act like that around it, but it was the luck he had. He had always been the unfitting one; it couldn't change just like that.

The calm, white eyes looked at the closet. That thing was fully aware there was a terrified animatronic, and it was not content with that. While it didn't appreciate anything that wasn't cheerful children around it, it wouldn't leave an innocent creature fearing for its life. It knew it was afraid of it, and the skeletal puppet wouldn't question it. It knew how disturbing it was, and it still couldn't understand how Ryan and BB hadn't run away from it. Children would normally run away if they encountered such a demonic thing.

Mangle tensed when she felt the piercing eyes fixed on her. Now she was panicking; she felt her limbs trembling as if she was alone in the middle of a freezing, winter gale. And worst of all, the firefly wasn't there to protect her. She was alone, and a nightmare-inducing monster was staring at her likely about to attack. She just hoped it didn't know how to open doors, or that the human wouldn't help it with that. Considering how cruel they were, that was probably what was going to happen.

She couldn't help uttering a fearful, raspy garble.

Her only chance was faking being hostile. With some luck, that creature would walk away.

* * *

Nightmare Chica gave Nightmare Bonnie a sharp sideways glance with an annoyed grumble. The rabbit would not believe she actually fought against Nightmare and lived to tell the tale, and what truly bothered her was the fact that he wouldn't stop mocking her of being a liar. She was jealous of him being stronger, it was all he said. Nightmare Chica was really struggling against the urge to leave him earless that time.

Nightmare Freddy merely rolled his eyes. He wouldn't even try anymore, those two were like toddlers. Not everything is learnt through mistakes, but the bickering animatronics needed more than one mistake to realize their wrongdoings. Both of them wanted to be right.

Their constant arguments, strangely, did not seem to annoy Nightmare Foxy, for he was way too lost in thought to pay them any attention. Why was that other fox so similar to him? And why did he become angry? It was a jigsaw as messed as that thing's body; unsolvable. He would snap if an answer didn't reach out to him, and Nightmare Fredbear was aware of it. While he knew it was good for him to think the problems out, he couldn't just wait for him to go berserk for overthinking it. He kept wary eyes on the fox. If he gave any signs of irritation, he would immediately order him to take his mangled version out of his head.

The firefly had fluttered out of the bedroom, and wandered through the lifeless hall. The soft, green-yellow glow that highlighted among the darkness made the corridor seem enchanted. Nightmare Bonnie had been the first to notice the faint glimmer, and gave a delighted rumble. The mysterious light was back! He had missed it; when he first saw it, time seemed to have stopped ticking. For him and the other Nightmares, there was nothing more beautiful than the little bug.

He told the others through a soft growl.

' _Small light back.'_

The three Nightmares looked toward the darkened doorway, seeing the poor light outside. Nightmare Chica made a pleased chirr. She could stare at the firefly forever.

It didn't take the fluttering bug too much time to enter the salon carelessly. It was followed by glowing eyes as it slowly fled around the ceiling, greeting the Nightmares with an enchanting light. The quiet rumbles soon became deep, low purrs as their eyes widened while staring at the soft, graceful light.

Nightmare Foxy let out a low, shivering growl.

' _Small light more important than enemy.'_

He heard the agreeing noises at that. For him, such beauty was more worthy of his time than some stranger. He started to wonder why he paid so much attention; it was useless, that thing would probably remain hidden in-

The closet…

Tattered ears moved up as the golden gaze became bitter. The firefly made him question and temporally forget everything, but he soon realized that something that dared to stay on his hiding place couldn't be forgiven. If that thing acted like him, then that'd meant she would be in the closet, and as fearful as it was, would not leave. Definitely unforgivable. Nightmare Foxy had been roaming around that house for longer than Mangle was. The closet was his, and no one was allowed to go in there. It was his place to be alone, lost in thought. He wouldn't let some stranger claim it. Not without a fight.

He growled louder.

' _But enemy in closet. Closet mine. Closet not anyone else.'_

He looked at the doorway; he was thinking of paying that thing a surprise, but of course, there was the downside. Ryan was there, and the fox didn't want to scare him with a fight. But he needed to show that impostor who was the one who had authority.

' _No. Kid near closet. Kid not to be scared. Useless.'_

Nightmare Chica's chitters briefly stopped him.

' _You watch small light. Small light calms down, small light is good, white you is not important.'_

She was right in a way. Golden eyes rolled. Nightmare Foxy never threw away a chance to fight, but it was true that starting a brawl that he'd likely win while he could just stare at a piece of magic was pointless.

Nightmare Fredbear had listened thoroughly. If it was true that the firefly could keep them away from conflicts, then he was sure he'd need that little hope-bringer around all the time.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, my keyboard completely screwed up and we had to buy a new one. Sheesh T-T**

 **The hazel-eyed bookworm – sí, hablo españolo X)**

 **icygem522 – that little story actually has me caught up! You're doing a good job at it ;)**

 **Rock Raider/Rubixcube98 – no worries, everything's going as planned. This is a** _ **very**_ **long story, and what I'm working with now will not seem so long after it's completed. It might be because of the shortness of the chapters. I'm really not someone who likes posting really long chapters.**

 **MidnightMorpher – he's more towards the polite-but-distant type. I don't really like Undertale, so I probably won't make stories about it.**

 **Plushtrapisboss - Fredbear, Nightmare, BB and Plushtrap are the only ones capable of speech, yes.**

 **SawgTrap – ye, sorry about that X( Broken keyboard is broken.**


	39. Allayed

A deep, gentle croon reverberated around the bedroom.

Ryan had been worried that puppet would've wanted to harm Mangle for the mere fact of just being there, and he was overly relieved it wasn't the case. That creature was caring and considerate. He really couldn't see it attacking anything for the fun of it. It was definitely too smart to act mindlessly and let itself be driven by an evil desire, like certain bear.

He was mad at himself for having judged it without even knowing what it was, but his hatred towards that damned Nightmare was too strong to let him believe something that pretty much derived from him could be nice to anything without having seen it in action.

Mangle had to look up when she heard the soothing croon, but amongst the mixed feelings within her eyes, fear was still the one that held power. She could see the white pupils through the small gap between the two almost closed doors, and she found them to be imposing, but also caring, and worried. Worried about her. That thing didn't like seeing her cowering behind a couple of doors, but what else could she do? After having seen what was in that house, she was sure nothing would make her come out of there.

And she had vowed to herself that she never would. Plus, the firefly wasn't there with her.

But there was something on that patient gaze that was drawing the fear away. It wasn't a killer, that much she could tell. It was there to help, but Mangle hesitated about believing so. Its appearance was bloodcurdling, but then again, hers also was.

How could she have missed that?

She was also a monster. Glowing eyes, razor sharp teeth and claws, a gloomy body. She was one of them, but they had still tried to attack her as if she was different. Until the human stopped them. She started to wonder if he had any sort of control over them, as they seemed to listen to him. Grudgingly, but they listened.

Fear had almost blinded her. She refused to believe she was a terrifying creature, but it was the undeniable truth. And even so, she still feared the outside. Those things had proven themselves not to be friendly, towards her at least. But that slender one was certainly different. It lacked the overall withered appearance, and its teeth and claws weren't so imposing. Mangle didn't feel anger around it.

It wanted her to come out, or at least come into sight, but the two humans were still there. What if they decided to take it on her? She didn't want to lose what was left of her mangled body.

The puppet instantly became furtively upset when it noticed that Mangle was just inches away from coming out until something stopped her. The tall creature followed her wary gaze, and it lead straightly towards Ryan and BB. It didn't need too much thinking to be completely sure that she didn't like their presence.

It hissed lowly, and BB and Plushtrap soon got the message. If they wanted to help Mangle, they'd have to do it by leaving. The humanoid found it weird; how was that a way of helping? She needed someone with her, but if they left, then she'd be alone with a blood-chilling creature. How was that any better? The puppet was gentle, yes, but he, Plushtrap and Ryan were even more so.

He wouldn't question something with such knowledge though, and was the first to silently leave, closely followed by Plushtrap as he uttered a small croon to let Ryan know he had to stay outside. He hesitated, having a careful glance at the closet. But that puppet knew what it was doing; there was no need to expect any fight between the two. He figured out it was smart enough to know when to leave things for later if it was unable to solve them.

Just a tiny second after the kid stepped out of the bedroom, a familiar caw echoed through the dark hall, and a bitter growl replied to it.

"Oh great," Ryan deadpanned. He really did not want to solve anything just now, but knowing that Nightmare Fredbear was with the others, he hoped he didn't have to interfere with whatever was happening.

* * *

Jaws snapped.

Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica both wanted the firefly close to them, but they would absolutely never share its company.

It only got them in another pointless argument, and Nightmare Fredbear had to give a silent sight at that. They had the minds of angry babies, and while that was funny in a way, especially considering how brutal they could be, it became bothersome after a while.

Nightmare Freddy had even stopped trying to quieten them after a while. It was as pointless as the reason for the brawl; the golden bear had heard him give an annoyed snort when the firefly started hovering around over each one of them, knowing a sharing argument was about to take place.

The glowing bug was a few feet away from Nightmare Chica, and she felt the rabbit's burning gaze on her back. She paid him no mind, entirely focused on the light, until another snap caused her to sharply turn around with an exasperated growl; he was starting to get on her nerves. She gave him a sharp caw to get him to leave her alone for once, but she knew it wouldn't work just like that.

The purple eyes formed a death glare as a bubbling growl vibrated within him, and it sharpened when the chicken turned to face the hovering insect with a snort. He knew he wasn't getting the attention he wanted, and it bothered him.

He shot a displeased snarl, but Nightmare Chica merely gave him a sideways glance before he stopped his malicious glare when the firefly fled above him. It was impressive how fast all the anger etched on his toothy face had disappeared as soon as the soft light met his eyes, and Nightmare Chica was certainly glad for that. She couldn't stand being constantly scowled and growled at, and she would've snapped if the little bug hadn't decided to calm the vexed rabbit.

The growl became a gentle whirr when the firefly fluttered mere inches away from the powerful jaws, and it left him rather confused. The small, tiny, puny thing was right in front of killer teeth; Nightmare Bonnie was fully capable of killing it and it was more than likely that the little thing knew it, but it just continued to flutter around carelessly. It impressed him.

The glowing insect was slightly pushed away by the calm breathing, and it didn't seem bothered by all the eyes planted on it.

Ryan heaved a sigh when he noticed everything was going swimmingly well as he stared from the obscured doorway. He was glad he didn't have to interfere with any problems, the firefly seemed to have done it for him. It gladdened his heart to see the Nightmares so calm, and sending such peacefulness among the place; he never thought he would ever presence this moment. They just looked so relaxed, so thought-free, so… friendly, he almost wanted to jump and hug them.

But he knew it was too early for that.

They were just his friends, and still barely. He needed more trust, a single drop of fear could collapse everything, and that meant he was low on the friendship scale. He'd know when his objective was fulfilled once he was able to be afraid of something in front of them, and treat them like his closest friends without them going berserk over it.

He almost wanted to laugh when he saw Plushtrap and BB so focused on the hovering light; it was certainly cute how much they praised such an insignificant bug. Even Nightmare Fredbear treated it as the most magical thing in the whole house – and perhaps, it was.

Ryan became curious about what would the puppet's reaction to it could be. He knew it had a great knowledge, would it know what the firefly was? It was a possibility, as it seemed to be aware of its surroundings and everything that inhabited them.

And it was even more important for him to know what would Nightmare's reaction be. Would he calm down at the sight of the firefly? Ryan was aware any light hurt him much more than it hurt the others, but maybe that one was different for him. He doubted it would work, but he could still try to lure him towards the bug, somehow.

He had to be crazy to do that, though.

* * *

Mangle uttered a brief, gentle garble.

The puppet had managed to get her out of the closet with certain patience. It had been harder than it thought, but it only needed to talk some sense into her to lure her out. It had promised her it would get all the 'monsters' to leave her alone until she decided to meet them peacefully, but that would surely take a respectable amount of time.

It couldn't quite understand why she hated children so much, having in mind that the constantly-smiling creature adored them, and that was precisely what the torn up animatronic was explaining. Or, trying to.

The puppet could understand a few sentences, though it needed to listen carefully. Mangle helped by trying her best to be clear, and using short, simple words to make it understandable enough. So far, she had said that she remembered that them, lots of them, were always bothering her and hurting her. She had said she could recall them being guilty for her atrocious appearance.

For the sympathetic being, Ryan seemed like a nice boy, and despite that freaky appearance, so did BB, and it couldn't figure out what all that fear was for. Mangle had admitted she was terrified of the humanoid for being so threatening, and the puppet struggled to make her understand that she shouldn't judge a book for its cover. There was something that still bothered Mangle about him, but she couldn't tell what.

She had started to realize that perhaps she judged the Nightmares too quickly. She figured out they were probably protecting the kid, and that was why they seemed so hostile, even though that one who looked so similar to her sent her bad vibrations. She didn't understand why he looked so much like her; their heads were identical, their eyes had that same thoughtful yet somewhat malicious tint on them, and they had a similar mindset – none of them liked company.

The puppet crooned softly, telling her that she was that other fox's replacement; it knew that there were certain Nightmares who 'replaced' others. It knew it was supposed to be Nightmare's counterpart, and that BB was Plushtrap's. It hissed when it told her that there could be a wave of hatred forming between the pairs if they didn't appreciate each other's presence, and that, sadly, was always the same.

When Mangle realized who BB and Plushtrap were, she immediately asked why they looked so alright being together. They didn't look like friends, but they still didn't show hard feelings towards one another.

And that was the one answerless thing.

The puppet tilted its head at that. It was the first time it didn't know something, and the matter was certainly important. Had that kid done something about it? That had to be the only possible answer.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Yes, I know updates are going slower. It's just the exam time, I have tons of stuff to read up and it drains most of my writing time, but school always goes first. However, next chapter will be a bit more action-filled, let's say.**

 **SwagTrap – it's not any of those. I would say it, but it contains a huge spoiler, so nope.**

 **Guest – they won't always communicate like that. I don't plan on it happening too often.**

 **MidnightMorpher – yes, they can.**

 **Sparro McGraw – for now, I don't plan on having him being able to speak, but perhaps that changes.**

 **Rock Raider – yes, those words are just the translation.**

 **Guest – no, I'm not going to add those since they don't appear in the actual game.**

 **Guest – judging by how I've got things planned, that won't happen, but maybe something similar does.**

 **Mia – your creativity amazes me :) / What codename do you mean? If you mean a FF username, she doesn't have an account here.**

 **Guest – pretty much, yeah.**


	40. Colored

There had been a brief giggle when the firefly fleetingly landed on Nightmare Bonnie's nose.

Ryan had been unable to not laugh at that short-lasting moment that ended when the rabbit puffed the bug away; it had been such an adorable witness. He had started to think that firefly was peculiar, and completely different from real ones, not only because it was somewhat different from others, but also by its actions. It almost acted like an intelligent being, and it was true that it had calmed down certain Nightmares too many times to be considered coincidences. Ryan didn't think that it was possible for a bug to have conscience of its own, but then again, he was standing fearlessly in front of seven deadly creatures after all. What could be odder than that?

Plus, he wanted his thoughts to be true. It would be helpful to have something that was aware of its good actions. If that firefly actually knew what it was doing, things would be so much easier. It was even funny to think that a tiny insect was able to stop a fight between very angry beasts easily.

When the firefly fled off towards Nightmare Chica, who greeted it with a chirr, Nightmare Bonnie started growling. He wanted the firefly to be with him, not with her, and he wouldn't consent her having its company. She didn't seem to be paying attention to the scowl, but Ryan could see the irritation on her eye as she tried not to glance at the agitator. And it wasn't so hard, anyways. The glow of the firefly distracted her from anything else, but when the growl started to increase, she felt that burning anger within her again.

She couldn't focus on the tiny piece of magic fluttering in front of her with the constant growl, and she was forced to give a warning hiss. Nightmare Bonnie was asking for a good, hurtful bite to the face at this point, and the chicken would not hesitate to do so. If required, of course. She didn't find a reason to start a fight only because she wanted the bug's attention.

Ryan could have sworn he saw the purple eyes glow lively only for a small second as the rabbit took a dangerous step with a menacing snarl, and that was the fire that lit Nightmare Chica's anger.

Slowly, she gave him a threatening sideways glance. It was clear she had done it with hesitation; she didn't want to stop looking at such a beautiful thing and stare at a scowling face instead, but the warning growls had pulled the trigger. Worry came upon the kid when he realized their expressions and noises were an almost identical recreation of that first time he saw them getting into a fight. He didn't want it to happen again.

Nightmare Chica's burning gaze sharpened as she gave a brief hiss, and Nightmare Bonnie flinched back when the powerful jaws snapped loudly just mere inches away from his snout.

Both Ryan and BB also flinched at the sudden noise, and they saw Plushtrap almost jumping in surprise when the loud snap crashed into him. They had overheard Nightmare Foxy giving an irritated whirr; if those two didn't stop their childish fights, he'd have to play their game to end it. The outcome wouldn't be pretty.

Nightmare Freddy didn't pay much attention, but the Fredlets had hidden simultaneously at the warning attack, mostly out of surprise. The snap had been so loud it echoed all over the house.

Nightmare Fredbear didn't seem so worried either. He knew they needed to fight or simply argue from time to time. They couldn't just ignore each other for too long; the anger they held towards one another was too strong, and if it kept growing bigger, so would their viciousness. But they couldn't get into a fight always, enough was enough. Only Nightmare Fredbear knew when to stop them; Nightmare Freddy never tried to interfere, he didn't know if it would be too soon or perhaps too late, and he definitely did not want to make matters worse.

At least, Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica never wanted to go off the rails during their brawls. Hating each other or not, they still were part of a family, and they wouldn't fight to death. Unless no one was there to stop their anger. Then, they'd fight until only one was standing, but even if that was to happen, they'd try to contain their desire to win something useless.

Nightmare Bonnie stood motionless and wide eyed. Nightmare Chica hadn't wanted to actually bite him, it was merely a warning, but one that wasn't to mess around with. If that snap caught him, she could've torn off his whole muzzle easily.

He wanted to return it, but he wasn't in the mood to waste his strength. He wouldn't fight in front of the firefly anyways. He felt like it was wrong to show violence around it.

He respected her for actually being a worthy opponent. She didn't want to waste her time with something that didn't matter at all, and she knew how to show that she wasn't joking. Even though the rabbit had shown he was certainly stronger, he still didn't want to go against a very angered Nightmare Chica.

She trilled deeply as she kept her gaze fixed on the glaring rabbit before huffing as she turned back to the firefly.

And that was where the awe began.

It was fluttering in the middle of the salon when it started to slowly twinkle, until its color began to visibly change; the dull yellow gradually became a faint, purple glow that closely resembled Nightmare Bonnie's pupils. Eyes widened at the magical sight, and that simple change of color had just proven Ryan's thoughts right.

Nightmare Bonnie whispered a fascinated croon as the identical colored insect started hovering around him, almost happily. He suddenly forgot why he had been so angry and shocked before, surprise overwhelmed one and all of his feelings. Nightmare Chica knew she was jealous, but she could stand letting Nightmare Bonnie get a pretty sight of the bug. It had been her same color all the time.

Plushtrap tilted his head at the magical even as so did BB. Ryan was speechless at the now purple firefly. It was pretty before, but now it was even more. He realized the little insect intended something when it slowly fluttered off towards Nightmare Foxy; the color change already got his attention, and it grew when the purple light started twinkling and gradually changing to a glowing red as it approached the fascinated fox.

It became clear that the firefly could really think, and it was likely getting all of the Nightmares' attention. Amazed golden eyes followed it as it fled past him at a slow pace. It started twinkling again until the color became a soft brown when it went past Nightmare Freddy. The Fredlets chirred in amusement.

Its color brightened to a golden tint when it fluttered under Nightmare Fredbear's attentive, scarlet gaze, and he and the others watched it become a reddish blue when it arrived at the doorway where the trio stood in amazement. The Nightmares had been confused for a moment as they never even heard them there, but the confusion disappeared and intrigue took its place when the bug landed on top of BB's propeller, already twinkling to change its color.

The humanoid carefully whirled the propeller, the firefly flying off towards Plushtrap. Ryan didn't exactly know how BB could possibly move the propeller at will, but he was too focused on the color-changing firefly to think about that.

It finally became a pale, greenish yellow as it started hovering around Plushtrap, and he chittered quietly at the gentle light. That firefly sure was a special insect.

* * *

Mangle kept looking at the door with attentive eyes and ears. The snap almost made her let out a fearful shriek, but she managed to contain it and merely flinched at the echo. She wondered what happened. She didn't hear any angry roars or growls, and there were no crashes to be heard whatsoever, so it couldn't have been a fight. She only knew that it sounded terrifying. Those other creatures really were dangerous. If that snap had been only some kind of warning or something similar, then she was sure she wanted more time before going with them.

Her endoskeleton head turned to look at the puppet; its eyes suddenly showed intrigue and stared into nowhere thoughtfully. Mangle turned to fully look at it. It was sensing good vibrations coming from somewhere in the house. It sensed happiness and peace, and they took over the place. That could only mean all of the roaming creatures were feeling the same, and the skeleton-like being wanted to know the source of such happiness.

The white fox soon turned to look back at the door, and tilted both of her heads slightly. There was something that had the puppet's full attention, and it was willing to know what it was. One of her ears flicked when she heard a soft croon.

' _Happiness.'_

She blinked her attached eye at the simple word. What did it mean? Was it asking her if she was happy? She wasn't quite sure, but she knew its vocabulary was extensive, and it would've said it in a questioning manner if it was actually asking, so Mangle figured it was referring to something else.

Only the puppet could feel others' emotions. No other Nightmare animatronic was capable of doing so, and it made it even more special so. Of course, no one knew. It decided to keep it a secret; it knew it would reduce trust in it. It knew those creatures hadn't seen it yet, and it had to win their trust. Its ability would have to remain a mystery until the bond had strengthened.

' _I think they feel happiness.'_

It didn't like lying, but it had to. Mangle barely opened her mouth to let go a brief rasp as she tilted her tattered hear at the door, while the eye attached to the endoskeleton head blinked in confusion.

But then, a faint feeling of anger reached the puppet. It was tiny compared to all the happiness s that it sensed, but it was still there. It was coming from somewhere else though, and the more it focused on the strange anger, the more it could feel it. It was strikingly familiar, the smiling creature had been around that kind of hatred before.

Of course, its rival.

It was the same burning anger. That thing was still out there somewhere, and the presence unsettled it. The puppet hissed at nothing, and Mangle tried to ask what was wrong through a low garble.

Telling her that such a monstrous, deadly beast was wandering through there would scare her too much, so the puppet merely replied with a weak coo.

' _It was nothing.'_

* * *

The firefly fluttered towards the hall as it regained its original color, but stopped there almost as if waiting. Ryan looked at it with a slight frown before lowly saying, "I think it wants us to follow it… or something."

The firefly did nothing, other than rocking to and fro slowly. The Nightmares looked at its direction expecting some sort of answer to show up, but nothing happened; however, only Nightmare Fredbear caught glimpse of something moving in the distance.

A single scarlet orb, to be precise.

The floating bug almost seemed to sway in a lively way when the bear's eyes narrowed. Was that what it wanted him to see? He figured out it was, as the firefly reunited back with them afterwards. Was it warning them? Nightmare was definitely spying upon them, and the fact that he let himself be seen wasn't good.

Nightmare Fredbear feared he could attack at any moment. He couldn't stay calm when he saw his dark counterpart around. He knew he was being overprotective, Nightmare would always be there, but he wouldn't purposely show himself. He needed to at least figure out what he wanted, or else he would be forced to stare into the darkness until he saw the remaining red eye again as a measure of protection.

"What are you looking at?" Ryan asked lowly, blinking at the darkness as the firefly fluttered above him, always followed by the curious eyes of the Nightmares.

Scarlet orbs narrowed again, and the golden bear sternly said, "He is watching us." The boy's blue eyes were filled with worry when he realized who 'he' was, and he didn't want Nightmare Fredbear going against Nightmare again. It was probably a trick, but he knew how the bear reacted to things like that. He cared for his dysfunctional family too much to let a potential threat go unnoticed.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Cesium Amber – yes, it is indeed.**

 **Devon – one of your ideas was gladly used here :)**

 **MidnightMorpher – yeah, kinda like frenemies, let's say/allay means put things like fear, anger and such to rest, or keep everything calm.**

 **10thdoctor1024 – I just started getting this idea as I played the game. I liked it, so I extended it, and it became this story :P**

 **Mia – he can't age in the afterlife.**

 **Matt – thanks for that, but I already have my cousin to check the chapters before posting them.**


	41. (brief hiatus)

**I felt like I had to tell you all this. I don't want to worry anyone! I know it bugs to have an update that's not a new chapter, but I'd feel bad with myself if I didn't post this.**

 **Since school is starting to make me really busy, I decided to wait for my Christmas holidays (which are exactly a week away) so I can get some free time. I've been trying to complete the next chapter, but with all the stuff I had to do, I couldn't find enough time. I literally get half an hour or less every day to write FanFiction stuff now (sometimes I can't even get on the computer), and I need much more time to complete a chapter.**

 **Now, talking about Christmas, I'll also post a FNaF World one-shot on Christmas Eve. I don't know if I mentioned it already, but I'm also going to work on a FNaF World fic right after this one.**

 **Well, that's all I had to say. See you in a week!**


	42. Urgent note

**Enough. I wanted to tell you all this for when I posted the next chapter in an author note, but you all seemed to lack patience and I couldn't hold it anymore.**

 **I did not abandon this story. I did not forget about this story. I said I would abandon it when pigs fly, and I don't see any chubby animals soaring across the sky yet, so this is not over. Not long after I posted the last note, I suffered a motorbike accident and broke my arm. I've been at the hospital for quite a long time, and now I'm finally at home but my arm is still badly messed up - plus, my friend, who was with me on the accident, got the worst part and I'm visiting him constantly. I can barely write and if I managed to get this up it's thanks to my sister who corrects me.**

 **And even though I'm not in the shape for writing stuff, I feel the urge to tell you, Camester, to stop. I know you like the story and wait a new chapter, but I found your attitude pretty annoying and rude. Please, be patient. I do what I can. I didn't tell my arm to mess up this badly.**

 **I don't know when I will continue. I may be getting better but writing is hard enough now. Just wait, please. That's all I'm asking you. I have to bear pain every day and feel bad seeing how you all are waiting for this to continue, while all you have to do is wait. Give me a break, and don't take it on the story - I'm looking at you, Camester.**

 **That is what happened. I hope you all understand.**


	43. (I Am Back)

**Yes! I, the Great Nooku, have returned!**

 **...and returned as trash too :)**

 **Ooooh, it feels so good to write a single word here again. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing fine now, and my friend is as well ^^ I've recovered quite a while ago, I was just looking after my buddy, _and_ attending school business. This year is being pretty tough on me regarding exams and books, to the point where I basically have little to no time to write stuff. Or even do anything aside from waking up at 7 in the morning, studying, reading, yada-yada. So, yeah. **

**I'm getting holidays soon, though - next week, actually! Let's just hope my teachers are merciful :p I will try and get around my beloved CYN by then! Oh, it's been so long since I don't write anything ;^; I'll have to re-read the story myself in case I end up forgetting anything, heh. I have a few chapters done, but they're kinda... I don't really know how to put it. I basically mean that I have to polish them and add more stuff in. And that usually takes me a while, I've been running short on imagination and inspiration.**

 **Oh! I almost forgot. As you may have seen, I became Undertale trash during my absence, and so I'm also working on an UT story as well. I may get this new one going for now, and then continue with CYN. I'll be working on both, don't worry: sometimes one will get more attention than the other, some other times they will both get updated, maybe neither of them get updated in a while because I just feel lazy, it'll vary. To be honest with you, I've lost a great portion of my interest on FNaF, but I once said that I'd abandon CYN when pigs fly, and I haven't seen any chubby pinkies flying across my window yet! ;)**

 **This is all I wanted to tell you. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for sooo long, I really felt bad about it. I myself missed this site in general; dang arm has been keeping me away from my phone and PC, and just when I get back around I don't have time for them. Welp, that's my luck.**


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